German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa in Burundi
Our office in Burundi is located in Ngozi.
A portrait of Burundi
Burundi is a landlocked country in the East African region, with a large shoreline on Lake Tanganyika, located in the Great Lakes region and surrounded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Rwanda to the north, and Tanzania to the east and south.
Burundi's population is estimated at 14 million, with a growth rate of 2.4 per cent in 2024. The Burundian population is very young with 35 per cent of the population being between 10- 24 years and 53% being between 15 -64 years according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Burundi's economy is mainly rural and based on agricultural exports and livestock.
Due to the tense political situation, the economy has shrunk in recent years. It is one of the world's poorest countries, as evidenced by its ranking in the human development index. Burundi is ranked 187 out of 193 listed countries in the human development index report 2023-24. As a result, GDP per capita and general livelihood is rather low.
The rate of financial inclusion in Burundi is very low with only 60.2 per cent of the adult population having a bank account in a formal financial institution. Although microfinance institutions account for more than 80 per cent of users of banking services in Burundi, they account for only 21 per cent of outstanding deposits and 23 per cent of outstanding loans of the entire banking sector.
Inadequate access to financial services as well as a lack of education, poorly educated employees and weak institutions are among the challenges of the microfinance sector in Burundi.
Our vision and activities
German Sparkassentiftung opened its first office in Bujumbura in 2012. Together with our former local partner organizations RIM (Réseau des Institutions de Microfinance), the Burundian umbrella organization of microfinance institutions and the University of Burundi, we implemented projects in the area of institutional strengthening, capacity building, vocational training and financial education in the microfinance sector. On behalf of GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation), we completed a project in which we advised MFIs (Microfinance institutions) on green finance and trained savings groups in financial literacy.
We are currently implementing the project “Soutien à l'Entrepreneuriat du Secteur Agricole au Burundi – SESA Isoko Irama” as part of a consortium of four organizations—AVSI Foundation, Burundi Business Incubator (BBIN), DSIK, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC).The aim is to improve the economic situation of agricultural producers from vulnerable groups.
