A Kenyan financial institution with nearly a century of history, a $3 billion portfolio, and ambitions that stretch well beyond Nairobi has chosen Rwanda as its first home outside Kenya. The $20 million it is bringing with it is just the opening move.
with $20 Million and Regional Eyes
CPF Group Rwanda Office Launch · Kigali · March 6, 2026
On March 6, CPF Group officially opened its Rwanda office in Kigali, becoming the first time the Nairobi-based financial services firm has operated outside Kenya in nearly a century. The company, which was founded in 1929 and manages assets worth over $3 billion, has committed $20 million to the Rwanda operation, roughly RWF 30 billion, as its opening position in the market.
The launch was attended by Rwanda’s Minister of Finance Yusuf Murangwa, Kenya’s High Commissioner to Rwanda Jeannet Mwawasi, and a gathering of local and regional business figures. Uganda is next on the list, with CPF Group confirming plans to open an office there as early as next month. The Horn of Africa is expected to follow after that.
Who Is CPF Group
CPF Group is not a new name in East African financial circles, even if it has not had a physical presence outside Kenya until now. The firm has been around since 1929, starting out as a retirement benefits administrator before growing steadily into a much broader financial services group. Today it covers pension fund administration, asset and wealth management, investment banking, insurance brokerage, fintech, property management, renewable energy, and professional training.
The range of what CPF does matters for Rwanda. It is not coming in with a single product or one narrow area of focus. It can operate across pension administration, wealth management, investment banking, and fintech within the same institution, which gives it flexibility to respond to what the market actually needs rather than fitting the market into a fixed offering.
Why Rwanda, Why Now
CPF Group has been based in Kenya for close to a hundred years. The decision to finally move beyond its home market, and to pick Rwanda as the first stop, reflects how the country’s financial sector is being seen by institutional investors in the region right now.
CPF Group Chairperson Maurice Nduranu pointed to Rwanda’s governance and regulatory environment as the main factors behind the choice. For a firm that manages pension funds and long-term savings, that kind of stability is not optional. You do not move a $3 billion portfolio into a market you are not confident about.
Rwanda has built one of Africa’s most stable and forward-looking financial ecosystems. We are here to mobilise capital responsibly, structure transformative transactions, and support institutions with governance-led, execution-focused advisory solutions aligned with national development priorities.
CEO Hosea Kili also pointed to Rwanda’s growing digital economy as part of the attraction, specifically mentioning the firm’s fintech plans and its aim to reach young people, urban residents, and rural communities who are not yet fully connected to formal financial services. Rwanda’s mobile money infrastructure and its young population give that ambition a real foundation.
What CPF Plans to Do Here
The $20 million is described as an initial investment, not a fixed commitment. CPF’s leadership has been clear that the scale of what they do in Rwanda will grow depending on what opportunities come up. But there are already specific directions on the table.
On the capital markets side, CPF has confirmed plans to list products on the Rwanda Stock Exchange. The firm is already active on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and has existing relationships with regional exchanges, so this is not new territory for them. For Rwanda’s market, which has been working to grow the range of instruments available and bring in more institutional activity, having a firm of CPF’s size listing products is a useful development.
The fintech side is another area CPF has specifically flagged. The firm wants to build and roll out financial technology products aimed at people who are not yet regular users of formal financial services. In Rwanda, where mobile penetration is strong but participation in formal savings, investment, and insurance products still has room to grow, that is a gap worth going after.
Private investor Jean Malic Kalima, who is active in mining and health, noted at the launch that one of the persistent challenges for large-scale private investment in Rwanda has been access to long-term financing. When that financing becomes available, more projects get off the ground, more jobs get created. CPF, with its pension and asset management background, is the kind of institution that can provide exactly that.
What the Room Said
When financing is available, particularly for large projects with longer repayment periods, it enables private investors to undertake initiatives that create jobs, stimulate industrial growth, and ultimately improve the livelihoods of citizens.
The establishment of CPF Group in Rwanda is not merely a corporate expansion. It is a powerful statement of confidence, partnership, and shared destiny between Kenya and Rwanda.
We are excited about the ease of doing business in Rwanda, the opportunities here, and the innovativeness of both government and private sector. Rwanda is a good place for our first stop outside Kenya as we expand across the region.
The Regional Expansion Roadmap
The business relationship between Kenya and Rwanda has been growing steadily for years, with trade, people, and investment moving more freely between the two countries than at any point before. CPF’s move is the most significant institutional expression of that relationship so far, and it is likely to be watched carefully by other Kenyan financial firms that have been considering a similar step.
For Rwanda, having a firm of CPF’s age and size choose the country as its first home outside Kenya carries weight. It adds to the case that the financial sector here is mature enough and stable enough to attract serious long-term institutional money, not just short-term capital looking for a quick return.
The $20 million is the opening. What comes after it will be the real story.
CABN Contributor 
CABN Staff Writer