COMMUNITY & BANKING

Kazoza Bank

Kanyosha is a rapidly growing community and now the second largest one in Bujumbura. The neighborhood is heavily populated with young people looking for a way into the economy, a way to build a future. Kanyosha also is home to many current Kazoza Bank members operating thriving businesses. For some time now these business people have been asking us to open a branch in their community to make daily banking tasks more convenient for them.

But they also invited us into the heart of their community to see the potential of all those unemployed young people, their neighbors. “If Kazoza Bank is here, they will see you believe in them. They will start believing in themselves.” And so, in October the Kazoza team went to Kanyosha to host an economic training series for young people curious about business. We welcomed 480 students for the conversations around growing a new business and found many eager entrepreneurs in Kanyosha. Our members were right – we had to consider a more intentional partnership with this community to support the youth and grow the economy with them.

This month we opened a new Kazoza Bank branch – in Kanyosha. From the beginning this felt more like a partnership with this burgeoning community, accepting an invitation to work together to build a good future. The economic outlook in Burundi is hard, and it will take those community leaders with experience, the energetic youth full of promise, and our Kazoza team to create a new reality full of potential for the families of Kanyosha. We are honored to contribute our services and be part of the good work.

Sometimes a bank is more than just a place to deposit and withdraw money – it is a good partner for a growing community, it is a seed of hope in a hard economy.