Turame Community Finance S.a

What Turame Community Finance S.a does

Turame Community Finance S.a is a privately held, Christ-centered microfinance institution headquartered in Bujumbura, Burundi. Founded in 2004 as a project of World Relief and separated as an independent second-category microfinance bank in January 2007, the company is now majority owned by HOPE International, a faith-based NGO. It serves approximately 42,000 clients through 154 employees and a network of six branches covering 13 of Burundi's provinces, targeting underserved microentrepreneurs, smallholder farmers (especially coffee and rice growers), and salaried workers who lack access to traditional banking.

The company offers a full microfinance product set: group loans (Community Bank, Solidarity Group, Salary Group, FAST SGL), individual loans with land-title collateral, agricultural loans for coffee and rice farmers at 2.5-4% monthly interest, and a savings suite (current, savings, step/echelon, and fixed-term deposits at 3-8% annually). Operations run on NETSUITE for accounting and SurveyCTO for field data collection, with no proprietary technology platform; lending decisions are made manually through community-based group guarantees reinforced by faith-based community structures (prayer groups, Bible study, and evangelization gatherings). Distribution combines physical branches with the Lumitel/Lumicash mobile money channel and field agents conducting community outreach through church networks.

Commercially, Turame generates revenue primarily through interest income on its loan portfolio, with yields ranging from approximately 12% annualized on salary group loans up to ~48% annualized on agricultural group loans, supplemented by spread income on customer savings deposits. Its go-to-market is community-led: field agents and church-based networks identify and onboard borrowers, group structures provide social collateral in lieu of physical assets, and the Christ-centered positioning differentiates Turame from secular competitors in a market characterized by low financial inclusion.

Name

Turame Community Finance S.a

Legal name

Turame Community Finance S.A

Website

https://turame.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Turame Community Finance S.a is a Christ-centered microfinance institution in Burundi, providing group and individual loans, agricultural finance, savings products, and mobile money services to approximately 42,000 underserved microentrepreneurs, smallholder farmers, and salaried workers across 13 provinces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microfinance

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Microloans & Working Capital Loans (FSAKAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agricultural & Rural Microfinance (FSAKAGAG), Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building) (BPAGALAJ)

Keywords

• Microfinance services
• Group lending products
• Agricultural microcredit
• Community savings accounts
• Smallholder farmer loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Bujumbura

HQ country

Burundi

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest Income: Turame generates revenue primarily through interest charged on group loans, individual loans, and agricultural loans. Interest rates vary by product: group loans at 2.5% monthly, individual loans at 18-20% annually, and agricultural loans at 2.5-4% depending on product type.
2. Savings Deposits: Customer deposits generate revenue through float and interest spread. Savings accounts offer up to 3% annual interest while Turame deploys these funds as loans at higher rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Turame Community Finance provides microfinance services to underserved communities across Burundi's 13 provinces, including group loans (Community Bank, Solidarity Group, Salary Group), individual loans, agricultural loans for coffee and rice farmers, and savings products (current accounts, savings accounts, step accounts, fixed-term deposits). The institution combines these financial services with Christian faith-based teachings, Bible study groups, and community prayer support, deploying field agents and operating six branches alongside mobile money integration via Lumitel/Lumicash.

Product overview

Turame Community Finance S.a is a Christ-centered microfinance institution offering a comprehensive suite of financial products and services in Burundi. The company provides group lending products (Community Bank, Solidarity Group, and Salary Group loans for micro-business owners and employees), individual loans (standard individual loans and individual business loans), agricultural loans (coffee and rice farmer group loans), and savings products (current accounts, savings accounts, step accounts, and fixed-term deposits). The company also offers mobile money services through a partnership with Lumitel/Lumicash. All products incorporate biblical principles and are designed to serve underserved communities in Burundi's 13 provinces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Bank (Group Loan)

Quantifiable outcome

• 42,000 clients served across 13 provinces in Burundi
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lumitel (Lumicash)coreTechnology or IntegrationMobile money service partnership enabling money transfers between Turame accounts and Lumicash accounts. Turame's e-wallet service works with Lumitel's Lumicash agents, allowing clients to send and receive funds conveniently through mobile phones.
• Community Coffee CollectiveminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCoffee washing station that serves as a market outlet for Turame's coffee farmer loan clients. Coffee farmers in Turame groups sell their coffee cherries to this station.
• MigotiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCoffee washing station that serves as a market outlet for Turame's coffee farmer loan clients. Coffee farmers in Turame groups sell their coffee cherries to this station.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: One of the world's largest development organizations with a substantial microfinance program across Africa and Asia. Offers group lending, savings, and enterprise development to microentrepreneurs, directly comparable to Turame's product set but at much greater scale.
• Equity Group Holdings: Major East African financial services group operating Equity Bank with retail, microfinance, and SME lending across Burundi and the wider region. Serves the same unbanked and microenterprise segments but as a regulated commercial bank.

Direct peers

• Pro Mujer: Mission-driven MFI combining financial services, health, and training for low-income women entrepreneurs across Latin America and parts of Africa. Shares the integrated financial-plus-non-financial services approach Turame uses (with biblical training).
• FINCA International: Global microfinance network serving low-income entrepreneurs with village banking/group lending methodology closely matching Turame's Solidarity and Community Bank group loan products. Operates across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eurasia.
• World Relief: Faith-based humanitarian organization that founded Turame in 2004 as a microcredit project. Runs similar faith-aligned microfinance and economic development programs globally, with comparable target markets in post-conflict and low-income settings.
• Opportunity International: Faith-driven global microfinance organization providing small business loans, savings, and training to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Shares the Christ-centered mission framing and smallholder/SME client focus with Turame.
• HOPE International: Global Christ-centered microfinance network and Turame's majority shareholder. Operates a federation of faith-based MFIs with similar group lending, Bible-study-integrated methodology, and rural entrepreneur targeting across multiple developing countries.
• World Vision Microfinance: Faith-based humanitarian organization with an economic empowerment / microfinance arm serving rural and vulnerable communities in Africa and beyond. Comparable target client base and community-driven distribution model.

Emerging players

• Branch International: Mobile lending platform offering small digital loans to underbanked customers across Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and other African markets. Represents the digital-first competitive threat to traditional group-based MFIs like Turame.
• Musoni Kenya: Digital-first microfinance platform operating in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) with mobile-based group and individual lending. Targets a similar low-income, often rural client base as Turame but competes on a more scalable digital model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/turame-community-finance-s-a

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Turame Community Finance S.a