The Covid-19 pandemic is throwing a curved ball at us. It has made planning virtually impossible.

After several years of “hustling,” my friend Njoroge saved money enough to construct his own little fruit shack in the Hurlingham suburb of Nairobi.

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.

“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.

As COVID-19 continues to ravage economies across the world, a key point of emerging macroeconomic focus is its variated impact at sectoral level.

How Kenyan mothers are keeping food on the table through the coronavirus crisis

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

As the world reels from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a key lesson it has taught us is the universality of our vulnerability.

The economic fallout engendered by COVID-19 has already been dire with many going without food and/or accruing different types of debt to stay afloat.

Agnes, 45, lives in rural Makueni with her children and elderly parents.  She had once been married, but her husband proved an unreliable partner.

Barriers to coronavirus prevention behaviour change in Kenya

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.

When we spoke with Benson in April, he was feeling optimistic about getting through the COVID-19 crisis unscathed.  He worked in a factory that manufactured paper products, and toilet tissue was in high demand.  He was sure he would keep his job.  In June, like many of our respondents, his outlook was gloomier.

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.

After three months of Covid-19 restrictions, Jennifer’s economic options have run out.  She is five months pregnant, and the baby’s father has blocked her calls.  She hasn’t been able to pay rent in three months and worries that she and her children are on the verge of eviction.

The annual lecture is FSD Kenya’s flagship event. Held every year since 2015, the annual lecture highlights new thinking and raise cutting edge issues in the field of financial inclusion.

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, FSD Kenya and BFA Global have been working to understand the human impacts—social, financial, and economic—by conducting qualitative phone interviews with previous respondents from the Kenya Financial Diaries.

Desperate for income, many Diaries respondents have gone back to work, but find it nearly impossible to earn a living.

This is clearly an unprecedented time. Over the past few months, the world has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen health systems burdened and unable to cope with the rising numbers of infected people.

The infection rate of COVID-19 is as yet low in Kenya, but the economic consequences are already biting.

Vera (45) lives in an informal settlement in Mombasa.  Usually it is just her at home these days.

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.

Coronavirus disruptions are giving some Kenyan woman a reprieve from domestic burdens and giving couples a chance to change their marriages

Kenyans’ reflections on security in the time of Covid-19

Urban and rural areas are coping to the coronavirus disruptions in different ways

Considering urban to rural migration as urban incomes dwindle

William lives in a small house in an informal settlement in Mombasa.  When we saw him last in 2015, he had recently married his girlfriend. 

Kenyan families are trying to cope with perpetual strain

Not only are Kenyans losing their incomes right now, they are also facing increased costs