BPR Bank Rwanda Plc has appointed Xavier Mugisha Shema as Acting Managing Director after Patience Mutesi resigned from the role, effective 31 October 2026.
Shema is the bank’s Executive Director for Commercial Businesses. His appointment still needs regulatory approval. The board will recruit a permanent managing director while he runs the lender in the interim.
Mutesi leaves after leading the bank since February 2023
In an official statement, the bank said Mutesi is leaving to pursue other interests. It credited her with steering the lender through rapid growth and change after the merger of BPR and KCB Bank Rwanda.
She took over in February 2023 from George Odhiambo, whom KCB Group moved to head National Bank of Kenya. Mutesi came to the bank from TradeMark East Africa, where she was Rwanda Country Director from 2016. Before that she led corporate banking at Ecobank Rwanda. She also serves as Honorary Consul of Finland to Rwanda.
The handover follows a record year for profit and assets
BPR reported profit after tax of RWF 40.8 billion for 2025, up 35 percent on the previous year. Total assets reached RWF 1.4 trillion, which makes it Rwanda’s second largest lender by assets. The bank said deposits grew 54 percent.
Shareholders approved a dividend above RWF 4.3 billion at the annual general meeting on 16 May, the bank’s second payout. The bank puts it at RWF 53 per share.
Shema built his career in credit, retail and commercial banking
Shema began as a relationship manager at I&M Bank Rwanda in 2009, managing credit for small and medium businesses. He joined BPR in 2016 as Head of Business Banking and became Country Head of Retail the following year. During that period the bank launched agency, mobile and internet banking.
He rose to Chief Business Officer at BPR Atlas Mara in 2020. He then moved to Equity Bank Rwanda as Commercial Director in 2022, where he was part of the team that acquired and merged Cogebanque. In 2024 he became Deputy Managing Director at Bank of Africa Rwanda. He returned to BPR in December 2024.
Shema holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Kigali Independent University and a master’s degree in finance from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
The board thanks Mutesi and backs her successor
The board wished Shema well in the acting role. It thanked Mutesi and wished her success in her next steps. The search for a permanent managing director continues.
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