March 20th, 2017
It takes a village: Lessons from digitizing social school fees payments
Amolo Ngweno
Our work on the Kenya Financial Diaries made it painfully clear to us that school fees are incredibly expensive for low income families. The lowest end public schools often ask about KSh 20,000 per year for a single student, when rural household incomes often average around KSh 6,000 per month.
March 3rd, 2017
Trust—Is there an app for that?
Julie Zollmann
Last year, I sat huddled with Esther in the back of her dark market stall. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with second hand bras for sale, leaving only a small space for us to sit and chat. Esther was coming through a rough few years. Her husband unexpectedly and quickly died from meningitis.
February 12th, 2017
M-PESA panel survey 2008-2014
Julie Zollmann
In order to understand the take‐up, use, and impacts of M‐PESA in Kenya, US based Principal Investigators William Jack (Georgetown) and Tavneet Suri (MIT Sloan School of Management) conducted a set of five surveys across Kenya, starting in yearly between 2008 and 2011, with a fifth survey conducted in 2014 to look at the longer-term impacts of M-PESA.
November 7th, 2016
Finance & fortune
Julie Zollmann
How exactly do financial services impact low income Kenyans? In this note, we extract the stories of eight respondent households from the Financial Diaries.
October 31st, 2016
Six secrets of the self-employed
Julie Zollmann
This is the second post in a three-post blog series introducing publications from our recently concluded Kenya Financial Diaries update study, conducted with BFA.
October 31st, 2016
Small “b” biashara
Julie Zollmann
Self-employment is a major source of income for low income Kenyans, and Financial Diaries respondents are no exception. When we talked to respondents in 2015, two years after the close of the original Diaries, those whose economic lives were improving pointed to business returns as one of the main drivers of their success.
October 24th, 2016
Where are they now?
Julie Zollmann
Over the next three weeks, we will be releasing three publications based on findings from the Kenya Financial Diaries Update, a follow up study with the Kenya Financial Diaries households.
October 24th, 2016
Trickling down & climbing up
Julie Zollmann
In late 2015, we followed up with Financial Diaries households to check in on their economic lives two years after the initial Diaries study ended. We wanted to know how they are doing now, the factors driving changes in their economic lives, and the role that financial services and financial choices were playing in their economic trajectories.
October 5th, 2016
A buck short: What Financial Diaries tell us about building financial services that matter to low-income women
Julie Zollmann
This report draws on Financial Diaries data from India, Kenya, and Mexico to enhance the field’s understanding of women’s financial lives, and to highlight provider-led opportunities to better serve this important market segment.
September 8th, 2016
Credit on the cusp: Strengthening credit markets for upward mobility in Africa
Julie Zollmann
Enthusiasm around the once-popular “Africa Rising” narrative is abating in the face of slower-than-expected growth, macro volatility deriving from continued reliance on raw material exports in many countries, and the reality of persistently high inequality.
August 4th, 2016
Beyond the pricetag: The real benefits of off-grid solar
Paul Gubbins
Exploring the affordability and value of solar home solutions.
July 20th, 2016
Solar stories: Diaries respondents’ experiences with off-grid solar
Julie Zollmann
March 23rd, 2016
Private sector dialogue: Jointly achieving universal health coverage
Julie Zollmann
March 23rd, 2016
Struggling to thrive presentation at private sector dialogue on achieving universal health coverage
Julie Zollmann
March 22nd, 2016
Struggling to thrive: How Kenya’s low-income families (try to) pay for healthcare
Julie Zollmann
March 22nd, 2016
Struggling to thrive: How Kenya’s low-income families (try to) pay for healthcare
Julie Zollmann
December 18th, 2015
From insight to action: five lessons from a year of applying Kenya Financial Diaries
Julie Zollmann
November 23rd, 2015
How big is our bias? What the Kenya Financial Diaries tells us about what we might be missing in FinAccess
Julie Zollmann
August 10th, 2015
It’s a small world, after all?
Paul Gubbins
August 10th, 2015
Solving the money problems of the poor: Four areas ripe for innovation
Paul Gubbins
August 10th, 2015
Why M-Shwari works
Julie Zollmann
July 24th, 2015
Financial inclusion insights tracker survey (FIITS) Kenya 2013
Julie Zollmann
July 24th, 2015
Financial inclusion insights tracker survey (FIITS) Kenya 2014
Julie Zollmann
July 23rd, 2015
Global Findex Kenya 2014
Julie Zollmann
July 15th, 2015
Getting an education in rural Kenya: Findings based on the Kenya Financial Diaries
Julie Zollmann
July 8th, 2015
A savings group story
Julie Zollmann