Rwanda Bankers Association is pleased to announce a call for papers for Research for its inaugural Rwanda Bankers’ Association Annual Research Conference scheduled for May 2024. The theme of the Conference is: “The Financial Technology, Innovation and Sustainability Interplay in Rwanda – Emerging Opportunities and Risks.”. A detailed Conference Concept Note is available at: https://www.rba.rw/research-center/concept-note-01

The Conference will put a spotlight on how the market responds to the interplay between three aspects that are often given distinct consideration.

• First is the issue of how financial technology is shaping market practice.
• Second is the inevitability of innovation on the back of emerging opportunities.
• Third is the aspect of sustainability that recognises need for adaptive business models fortified with Environmental, social and Governance (ESG)

The thrust of the Conference papers will be to steer the conversation on how dynamics in the financial sector, based on the treatment of these three aspects in a linked manner, will foster the positioning of finance at the centre of the developmental aspirations of Rwanda. That will entail the showcasing of emerging knowledge in three areas:

1. Financial technology, especially mobile technology, has enabled the provision of financial services by prudentially regulated institutions as well as non‑regulated agencies that include financial technology companies. Whether or not efficiency gains and opportunities to new products translate to opportunities for profitability than the promise of more inclusive finance is an open question.
2. The dynamics around expectations of consumers of financial services in the context of cost and access on the back of new market competition dynamics and risks as financial technology is germane to the understanding of market behavioural changes.
3. Beyond aspiration, there are opportunities for commercial lenders in key sectors such as housing, agriculture and industry that are not being fully realised. Its key that the opportunities and constraints are mapped out for the full realisation of the potential, cognisant that these key sectors are adjusting to the demands of addressing to environmental/climate related risks.

The emphasis of the Conference will be on high quality papers with a clear balance between theory and application, and policy and/or business relevance of the research findings.

An honorarium will be paid for each paper selected for the conference. Further, all conference papers will be reviewed and published as Working Papers by the Rwanda Bankers Association Research Centre.

Requirements

1. Full paper (not more than 8,000 words) or a concept paper (not more than 2,500 words). The submission must be strongly aligned to the above motivated theme.
2. The concept paper/full paper should focus on either one of the areas outline or bring out dimensions of linkages to other areas in the theme line.
3. The concept paper/full paper should have a 300‑word abstract.
4. A brief biography of the author(s) that includes professional qualifications and research experience. The biography should not be more than one pages.