Radhika Parashar
- Rwanda has been engaging in CBDC related research work since 2023
- Its central bank aims to collect enough data before proceeding to finalise its CBDC
- The fresh Ideathon initiative to test business usecases of the e-Franc-Rwandais is slated to culminate in September
The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) has initiated a new step in the development of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This week, the bank announced a limited-period trial contest of e-Franc-Rwandais CBDC. The aim of this “Ideathon” is to assess the interest, ideas, and experiences of retail users with the CBDC. The development, notably, comes at a time when CBDC-related developments have relatively reached a point of stagnation on a global level.
The programme, that is slated to culminate around September end, is aimed at having startups and players from the local payment sector to use the e-Franc-Rwandais for day-to-day settlements.
“The NBR aims to ensure that any future development is grounded on validated evidence, aligned with societal needs, and capable of delivering meaningful benefits to Rwanda’s economy and its people,” the bank said in its statement, introducing the initiative.
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Startups, banks, and fintech firms interested in participating in the Ideathon have been asked to submit business use- cases for this CBDC between August 4 and September 15.
“Create innovative use cases on top of the core CBDC functionalities (only
conceptually, no need to do a prototype or any programming),” the NBR noted.
Rwanda’s central bank will then go through the ideas and contact those that make the cut to be presented at the Ideathon event, scheduled for September 30.
The NBR said it will analyze these ideas based on their technical feasibilities, problem solving capabilities, and understandability quotient among other criteria.
“The NBR did not make any decision yet whether or not to issue a CBDC in
Rwanda but is in the process of studying technical, legal and other key components of its feasibility, the statement added.
In 2023, Rwanda joined countries like India, China, and the UAE in hopping aboard the CBDC-wagon with the aim of creating a blockchain-based representation of its fiat currency. The idea behind CBDCs is to reduce reliance on paper notes and introduce more transparency to the financial ecosystems through blockchain offerings.
In recent times, however, the hype around CBDCs seems to have dwindled. While nations like India, China, and Russia have reached the advanced stages of their respective CBDC trials — the U.S. has recently cleared an Anti-CBDC bill calling these tokens instruments of financial surveillance by financial authorities — jeopardizing people’s monetary privacy.
