Rwanda

Announced or draftingChecked 2026-11-14 · confidence medium

Rwanda's Capital Market Authority said on 12 June 2026 that proposed Islamic capital market listing and trading rules were reviewed at a validation workshop. On 14 November 2026 these rules were not on the published rule lists, and no Islamic bank, sukuk or takaful operator was found.

Five checks

Banking rulesNot checked

Law No. 044/2024 of 30 May 2024 governing banks (Official Gazette of 10 June 2024; text searched) has no Islamic, sharia or interest-free provision. The National Bank of Rwanda's regulation lists could not be read because its website loads only through JavaScript, so a BNR regulation cannot be ruled out. Web searches found no BNR Islamic banking rule.

Licensed banks and windowsNot checked
Sukuk issuedNot found
Takaful (non-interest insurance)Not checked

Law No. 030/2021 of 30 June 2021 governing the organisation of insurance business (text searched) has no takaful provision. Insurers are licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, whose insurer list and regulations could not be read. Web searches found no takaful operator or window in Rwanda.

Capital market rulesNot found

No Islamic capital market rule was in force on 14 November 2026. CMA's laws, regulations, guidelines and directives lists and RSE's rules page list none, and the RSE Rule Book (file timestamp 29 July 2026) has no Islamic or sukuk term. CMA reported on 12 June 2026 that stakeholders reviewed and validated proposed Islamic Capital Market Products Listing and Trading Rules at a workshop organised by RSE. The Citizen (5 June 2026) wrote that RSE 'has become the first' exchange in the region to establish such rules, but CMA calls them proposed. A draft capital market business bill released for public comment in 2025 provides for Islamic securities, according to Andersen; it is not on CMA's list of laws.

  • “brought together stakeholders to review and validate the proposed Islamic Capital Market Products Listing and Trading Rules.”
    Capital Market Authority (Rwanda) · 2026-06-12
  • “RSE ETFs & REITs Listing Rules”
    Rwanda Stock Exchange · accessed 2026-11-14
  • “the country readies to introduce Islamic finance products on the local bourse.”
    Rwanda Stock Exchange · 2026-06-15
  • “dedicated Listing and Trading Rules for Islamic capital market products”
    The Citizen (Tanzania) · 2026-06-05 · secondary
  • “Provides for Islamic securities and exchanges with investor protection at the core”
    Andersen in Rwanda · 2025-08-10 (first published in The New Times) · secondary

Recent developments

  1. 2025-08-10Andersen reported that CMA released a draft capital market business bill for public comment with provisions for Islamic securities (secondary). It had not been enacted by 14 November 2026. source
  2. 2025-11-01The New Times reported that Rwanda is taking steps to introduce Islamic finance to its capital markets (secondary; only the headline and summary could be read). source
  3. 2026-06-12CMA reported a validation workshop, organised by RSE, on proposed Islamic Capital Market Products Listing and Trading Rules. source
  4. 2026-06-15RSE published an explainer saying the country is getting ready to introduce Islamic finance products on the exchange. source

Still open

Points we could not confirm at source yet.

  • When will CMA approve and publish the Islamic Capital Market Products Listing and Trading Rules?
  • Has the capital market business bill with Islamic securities provisions gone to Parliament?
  • Has the National Bank of Rwanda issued any Islamic banking or takaful rule, or licensed any window? Its lists could not be read.
  • The RSE 'Sukuk Board' page exists but is empty; no sukuk is listed.
Where we searched
  • bnr.rw: JavaScript-only site; laws, regulations, licensed-institution and insurer lists not readable. Banking Law 2024 PDF (bnr.rw/documents) text searched
  • commons.laws.africa: Law No. 030/2021 on insurance business, text searched
  • cma.rw: press release of 12 June 2026; laws, regulations, guidelines and directives lists; documents and downloads page
  • rse.rw: Sukuk Board page (empty), rules and guidelines page (9 documents; ?page=2 and 3 return the same list), RSE Rule Book PDF (file timestamp 29 July 2026) searched for Islamic, sukuk and sharia; explainer of 15 June 2026
  • kifc.rw and minecofin.gov.rw home pages (earlier pass, same day): no Islamic finance mention
  • Web searches (English): Rwanda Islamic banking, sukuk, takaful, capital market bill, Islamic listing rules
  • Secondary: The Citizen (5 Jun 2026), Andersen (Aug 2025), The New Times (Nov 2025, Jun 2026; article bodies did not load), AllAfrica (Jan 2026)