The focus on the potential and real risks of digital credit, while commendable, runs the risk of taking our collective eye off the wider credit market, which has a much more significant impact on Kenya’s economy.

On the 5th of September 2019, the Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), held a stakeholder validation workshop in Nairobi, where they presented the findings of a research study that identified seven key financially underserved segments of the Kenyan population and discussed the potentially viable business cases and policy implications that financial market players could tap into.

As I reflect on my first month leading FSD Kenya, I am struck by both the challenges we face as well as the opportunities we can seize to truly create value through inclusive finance in Kenya.

FSD Kenya is pleased to support the Afro-Asia Fintech Festival (www.afroasiafintech.net) co-hosted by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Monetary Authority of Singapore on the 15-16 July at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies.

FSD Kenya set out to explore ways of using finance to build livelihoods of poor households in Kitui. The survey identified indigenous poultry and pulses as the agriculture value chains with the greatest opportunity for low-income households.

Financial Sector Deepening-Kenya is proud to be a supporting partner of Dignity and Debt‘s project that involves the use of AI to marshal citizen voices about their experiences with digital credit.

The 2016 FinAccess household survey has been cited in a recently published academic journal. Access and view the journal article via the link below.

The 4th FSD Kenya annual lecture on financial inclusion is set to take place on the 8th of November 2018. This year’s lecture titled, “The inevitable: a glimpse of the future of fintech” will be delivered by Julian Kyula, an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader recognized locally and internationally.

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.

For us, Fintech only matters if it is helping Kenyans solve real-world problems or seize genuine opportunities.

With its launch in 2007, M-PESA changed the way Kenyans transact with each other. In doing so, impact studies found that it significantly improved the ability of social networks to help people manage shocks

FSD Kenya is pleased to announce that its 4th annual lecture on financial inclusion will be delivered by Julian Kyula on the 8th of November 2018.

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.

Throughout this blog series I have examined FSD Kenya’s Building Livelihoods programme from an identity perspective. I have shown how the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) creates valued identities in the community and how there are different pathways to savings group identification and value.

The role of community-based facilitators (CBFs) is to encourage participation in savings groups, ensure groups function effectively, and provide training on basic financial and business skills, as well as prepare participants for formal loans.

Over the past two years I have travelled to Marsabit County in Northern Kenya four times to talk to the same 50 people about their lives and experiences as participants of FSD Kenya’s Building Livelihoods programme. The programme aims to help participants develop sustainable livelihoods through business.

Where there is already a strong value associated with savings groups, people are likely to more rapidly join, participate more fully, and exemplify what it means to be a member of the group.

FSD Kenya’s Building Livelihoods programme is a market-based adaptation of the Graduation approach popularised by BRAC in Bangladesh. Over a period of two years, participants shared stories about their lives and early experiences with the programme giving insight into who they are and how they think and change throughout the programme.

Data protection is one of the most important issues currently facing the Kenyan economy. On July 17th FSD Kenya submitted public comments to the Data Protection Bill, 2018 presented by the Senate ICT Committee.

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

The combination of a regulatory sandbox and a one-stop-shop regulatory helpline is what the Kenyan fintech market needs to continue innovating.

FSD Kenya carries out research excursions across the country to obtain perspectives of ordinary Kenyans regarding finance, financial services and how the financial system has impacted their livelihoods.

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.

On 30th June 2017, M-Akiba, a Kenyan government bond sold through the mobile phone, was launched.

After many years, the involvement of many partners and many iterations, M-Akiba, a Kenyan government bond sold through the mobile phone, was launched in 2017.

“We have been working towards this moment for a long time. With the bank loans just a few weeks away we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.” 

Digital credit has become a leading source of credit in Kenya. Who is using digital credit and what impact is it having on low-income customers?

“…fintech innovations need to be more inclusive, easier to use, and designers should work harder to provide greater consumer protection and empowerment.”

Today, mobile money has managed to penetrate over 70% of the Kenyan population, with more people claiming access to services such as Safaricom’s M-Pesa than ever before.