Kenya has received world-wide recognition as leader in financial innovation. This is a laudable achievement because finance holds the potential to unlock solutions to the real-world problems that Kenyans face in their daily lives.

Why is agricultural sector the least funded sector in Kenya by the formal financial sources despite being the largest sector in terms of GDP contribution (at over 50% GDP contribution directly and indirectly)?

The agricultural sector in Africa is yet to take off despite being the dominant employer and the key contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) for most countries on the continent.

A little over a month ago, we confirmed an exciting hypothesis  that it is actually possible to predict the propensity of success for Kenyan “hustlers” based on data mining and qualitative research

A big question amidst the current COVID-19 has been, how are community-based finance models fairing?

The recent months have been quite surreal for many across the globe.

Shujaaz Inc. is a Kenyan communications research and production company. Formerly called Well Told Story, the company is the producer of “Shujaaz,” an award-winning media platform that provides open spaces – including online platforms – for youth to discuss personal and societal issues often considered sensitive or taboo within their communities.

This is the second blog in a three-part series on youth employment and skill-based work.

This segmentation study identifies Kenyans whose financial needs are not adequately met by the solutions available in the financial market, as well as the untapped opportunities they offer to financial service providers. The study was conducted by FSD Kenya and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), using data from FinAccess 2019.

On November 19, FSD held its annual lecture where David Ferrand shared his insights in a lecture titled ‘Financing Kenya: 2020 hindsight for Vision 2030’.

Combining education, apprenticeship, and start-up capital to surmount barriers and transform trajectories 

FSD Kenya’s 2018 experiment with Apollo Agriculture illustrates how to start from a real economy problem and then innovate a suitable financial solution that helps unlock real value.

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.

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.

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.

Five years after Kenya launched the world’s first digital credit solution, the market for digital credit has expanded rapidly in Kenya and many low-income countries. But exactly how big is the market? Who’s using digital credit? And what impact is it having on low-income customers?

During his visit for the FSD Kenya 3rd annual lecture, John Kay visited Haki Group, a Self Help Group registered in 2002 but graduated to a Community Based Organization in 2005 to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS in Kibera.

Credit information sharing arrangements (‘CIS’) have emerged worldwide as an effective mechanism to improve access to credit by reducing information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders and improving the quality of credit assessments made by lenders. Since 2009, Credit Information Sharing Association of Kenya (‘CIS Kenya’) has been developing the system of credit information sharing in Kenya.

While both Kenya and Tanzania registered fast uptake of digital credit, a new study by FSD Kenya and CGAP with almost 8000 individuals found considerable differences as well as similarities in the adoption and use of digital credit in the two countries.

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.

23% of sub-Saharan Africans are living in “cusper” households that get by on $2-$5 per person per day. This map shows their total percentage per country (relative to the overall country population) and size in millions