In Burundi, rural populations have extremely limited access to financial services. To start any kind of business, they often have no choice but to borrow from traders and “loan sharks” who can charge excessive interest rates – as high as 1,000 per cent.

The Project to Support Agricultural and Rural Financial Inclusion in Burundi (PAIFAR-B) will enhance the availability of financial services in rural areas where demand currently far outstrips supply. It is expected to benefit 99,200 smallholder farm households in 18 provinces. It will start its activities in the 13 provinces where IFAD is already supporting 4 ongoing projects, and then extend its operations to the remaining 5 provinces at a later stage.

Rural people are those most affected by financial exclusion, especially women and young people between ages 18 and 30. By bridging the gap between the demand for and the supply of financial and non-financial services, PAIFAR-B will enhance financial inclusion among both the agricultural and non-agricultural rural population – in particular, the most vulnerable smallholder producers and their organizations as well as microentrepreneurs. It will involve the Burundi Central Bank, the private banking sector and microfinance entities, with the goal of substantially reducing rural poverty in Burundi.