The Bank of Kigali and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) signed a five-year deal to match financial services opportunities with graduates skilled in mathematical sciences. The partnership encourages AIMS graduates to work on bank business problems and develop solutions by designing prototypes for new products and services to support the Bank of Kigali’s objectives, operations and growth.

“We’re very proud and excited about this partnership with the Bank of Kigali,” Thierry Zomahoun, President and CEO of AIMS said. “We believe that education doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Our graduates must contribute to industry needs.” He added that education in mathematical sciences with industry experience responds to the needs of Africa’s private sector and enables its graduates to contribute to Africa’s growth story.

The partnership between the Bank of Kigali and AIMS includes internship and employment opportunities and financial services research needs. The Bank of Kigali will benefit from applied research in financial mathematics, climate science, big data, computer security, encryption, monitoring and evaluation.

“Education and innovation are pillars of the Bank of Kigali’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy,” said Dr. Diane Karusisi, Bank of Kigali CEO. “We are excited about our partnership with AIMS because we directly support the training of the next generation of problem solvers through science and research, which are important to Rwanda’s development agenda.”

Under the new partnership, Bank of Kigali will provide AIMS access to facilities, datasets and other tools needed for research and specialised training programmes in accordance with the legal framework and procedures related to data access.