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Amrik Heyer
Amrik spearheads FSD Kenya’s research agenda which operates across its programme to drive and deepen financial inclusion. Increasingly, research is becoming a central part of FSD Kenya’s offer to the market, where innovative research technologies and methods are being leveraged to expand outreach and increase the value proposition for low-income consumers. Amrik is responsible for driving a research agenda that effectively supports FSD Kenya’s partnerships with industry and policy makers. For example, through demonstrating the power of digital technology to leverage big data, while deepening insights on behaviour and needs through innovative methodologies such as financial diaries and linguistic/ethnographic techniques. Amrik oversees FSD Kenya’s collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya in developing and delivering the FinAccess surveys to track supply and demand across different segments. Lastly, she is responsible for FSD Kenya’s impact research where producing evidence to ‘prove’ effectiveness is balanced ‘improving’ strategy, delivery and design. In collaboration with FSD Kenya’s communications officer, Amrik plans and manages the dissemination of research findings in relevant formats for target audiences. In a bid to develop new directions and activities for FSD Kenya’s research theme, Amrik is charged with the identification of new areas for work which will add value to FSD Kenya’s programme.
Articles by Amrik Heyer:
COVID-19 has underlined the need to fundamentally re-imagine the ways in which we produce and distribute resources.
June 29th, 2021
Report – State of the Kenyan economy: Focus on Digitisation and the impact of COVID-19 on MSEs
Anzetse Were
In Kenya, divergence trends continue with macroeconomic resilience masking sustained inequalities and divergence in recovery. On one hand, inflation remains reasonable; export performance has been relatively strong (especially relative to other African countries); diaspora remittances have been robust; and the mobile money sector has demonstrated sustained resilience and growth.
June 16th, 2021
Social protection: not a cost, but an investment in long-term, sustainable economic growth for Kenya
Stephen Kidd
Rather than a ‘cost’ to the state, social protection is an essential component of any sustainable, national economic growth strategy. Most of the world’s successful economies are significant investors in social protection, with spending across the OECD averaging 12 per cent of GDP.
April 12th, 2021
Challenges facing women and youth grocery retail traders in Kenya
Carol Matiko
March 5th, 2021
Does gender matter in the design of digital infrastructure and services?
Amrik Heyer
February 22nd, 2021
Report – State of the Kenyan economy: Focus on the impact of COVID on women and education
Anzetse Were
October 29th, 2020
From financial inclusion to inclusive finance: The power of frameworks to catalyse change
Amrik Heyer
Below, we’ll discuss the power of frameworks in shaping research and providing insights for financial inclusion policy and investment.
October 16th, 2020
The Value of (in)formality: A case study of MSEs in Nairobi CBD
Amrik Heyer
September 9th, 2020
Combining new and traditional mechanisms in Northern Kenya to cope during COVID-19
Wanza Mbole Namboya
In mid-July we interviewed a subset of FSD Kenya/CARE’s Building Livelihoods programme beneficiaries in Northern Kenya to understand the extent to which resources built up through the programme are supporting resilience of beneficiary households during COVID-19, and how these compare and interact with traditional pastoralist coping mechanisms.
September 6th, 2020
Debts in distress: how ordinary people are finding the liquidity they need to survive COVID
Julie Zollmann
“Things are getting bad,” Vanessa told us. When we spoke with her in late June, her family had just about run out of food and were waiting for the next harvest.
August 24th, 2020
Challenges facing women and youth grocery retail traders in Kenya
Amrik Heyer
The main objectives of this study was to explore the challenges faced by retail traders in Kenya, specifically women and youth traders, as well as the potential barriers and opportunities for women and youth to use digital solutions in their businesses. The research methodology included both qualitative and quantitative elements including an analysis of survey data and in-depth interviews with retail traders
August 1st, 2020
Understanding drivers of resilience in Northern Kenya in the time of COVID-19: Part 1
Jody Delichte
Over the past four years, FSD Kenya’s Building Livelihoods programme in Northern Kenya has explored how extremely poor households can be transitioned out of poverty and into sustainable livelihoods through stronger engagements with markets.
August 1st, 2020
Is financial inclusion adding value for women; or is it the other way around?
Amrik Heyer
This week is financial inclusion week, a good moment to take stock of the multibillion dollar ‘fortune at the bottom of the pyramid’ that has been so successfully reaped by the financial inclusion industry.
October 23rd, 2019
Bridging the gender divide: implications for Kenya’s 21st century pathway to inclusive growth
Amrik Heyer
Natasha is a young woman who has a cake baking business on the outskirts of Nairobi. She has a bank account for her business which she uses intensively. Natasha’s business was doing well and she needed a loan to expand.
FSD Kenya has been working since 2005 to promote financial inclusion in Kenya. Kenya has made huge strides during this time with over 75% of the population having access to a formal account.
Kenya’s more successful mass market financial solutions have demonstrated the importance of social values by enabling poor Kenyans to manage their money in ways that cultivate their visions of well being.
How exactly do financial services impact low income Kenyans? In this note, we extract the stories of eight respondent households from the Financial Diaries.
