Managing your money broadly means deciding how much to set aside for the future and how much to keep handy for short term uses.

FSD Kenya and BFA Global held a webinar on the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on low-income households in Kenya on the afternoon of Thursday, June 11th, 2020.

This study examines how building livelihoods programmes, or financial graduation projects, shape who participants become as businesspeople.

FSD Kenya’s CEO, Tamara Cook, sat down for a video interview with the Kenyan WallStreet.

Starting with microcredit in the late 1980s, there has been a growing movement of multilateral institutions, private foundations, non-profits, corporations and governments that aims to provide formal financial services to low-income market segments around the world.

Kenya has been feted around the world for its achievements in advancing financial inclusion. And the speed at which access to the formal financial system has advanced has certainly been exceptional. The development of a near ubiquitous mobile phone-based payments system provided the foundations for a further round of fintech innovation.

Since the launch of M-Shwari in 2012, the number of digital lenders and loans disbursed has grown substantially. Advances in credit scoring, few regulatory barriers and the widespread use of mobile phones and mobile money have enabled growth of the digital lending industry, giving borrowers a quick and convenient option for credit.

This report is the second in a series of studies that measure the cost of banking services in Kenya. It follows the first report that was released in 2017 and constitutes a complementary element in the measurement of the financial inclusion landscape in Kenya.

On the evening of Tuesday November 19th 2019, FSD Kenya held its fifth annual lecture on financial inclusion at the University of Nairobi’s Chandaria Auditorium.

This year’s lecture titled “Financing Kenya: 2020 hindsight for Vision 2030” was delivered by Dr. David Ferrand. David is a long-time observer of the Kenyan financial sector.

Digital credit has been instrumental in granting formal credit in ways that were not conceivable a decade ago. It has provided individuals with the tools to manage their day-to-day needs and working capital for small enterprises.

Social media is changing customer service by shifting the ways in which consumers seek resolution of problems and the channels that firms make available to consumers.

Kenya aims to become a middle-income country by 2030, delivering a high quality of life to all. Finance plays a central role in our economy, facilitating trade and underpinning the efficient pooling and allocation of resources and risk.

This Financial Access (dubbed FinAccess) Household Survey 2019 is the fifth in a series of surveys that measure and track developments and dynamics in the financial inclusion landscape in Kenya from the demand–side.

The 4th FSD Kenya annual lecture on financial inclusion is set to take place on the 8th of November 2018.

Internationally recognised tech entrepreneur, Julian Kyula, was the guest speaker at the 4th FSD Kenya Annual Lecture that took place on 8th November 2018 at the Chandaria Center for Performing Arts, University of Nairobi Towers.

In the past five years, digital loans have transformed the market for credit in Kenya. For millions of adults, the possibility of borrowing from their phones has opened the door to private, formal consumer credit for the first time.

A presentation and panel discussion by FSD Kenya on tech-enabled lending in Africa.

Joseph and Alice are not real people, but the impact of behavioral research on consumer protection is anything but hypothetical. Across the world, consumer protection authorities have been using behavioral research to inform everything from post-financial crisis rules for mortgage brokers to regulations on new mobile and app-based financial services.

There is a range of new data sharing models emerging that could have a significant impact on financial innovation in emerging markets.

In countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, India, and Mexico, there is momentum to increase consumers’ ability to access, manage, and control their digital identity and history.

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.

This interactive data visualization tool enables users to explore how over 290 participants from the Kenya Financial Diaries study viewed their lives, money and financial services.

This interactive data visualization tool enables comparisons of financial service usage indicators over time for various sub-groups of Kenya’s population. 

The 3rd FSD Kenya annual lecture on financial inclusion was delivered by John Kay to a venue-packed audience of stakeholders from the financial sector industry. 

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.

John Kay is a renowned British economist, and until recently, a columnist with London’s Financial Times (FT).