Jane* a 36 year old mother of two lives in a rural town in Central Kenya on an eighth of an acre. She farms coffee beans for sale. Depending with the season, she plants either maize, beans or potatoes just enough for consumption at home. She also does casual jobs in the neighbourhood where the […]
The lure of consumer debt for the young working class
A few years ago, most of us had ‘informal creditors’ amongst our friends. These were people we would call at odd hours for ‘Mpesa’ and in five minutes they would send the cash. No judgement or questions on why you need the money and due to mutual respect, they would not soil your reputation by […]
Effect of low interest rates to the young working class
We were all in a celebratory mood when the CBK governor announced the capping of interest rates for banks. Some of us (bankers) in hushed tones due to the definite conflict of interest. I was working for a local bank and we mourned that decision for days! How could we meet our targets bearing […]
Impact of Financial Literacy in optimising Financial Inclusion
92% of Malaysia’s adult population had active deposit accounts as at end of 2015 allowing them to save, transact and access cash using electronic channels available nation wide. This is in proportion to Financial literacy levels in the country. In addition, more than 70% of Malaysia’s adults in the labor force are account holders of […]
Cultural Artefacts barring Financial Inclusion
In any society, there’s shared history that evolves into a culture. A community’s culture can propel or hinder financial inclusion depending on the beliefs that locals hold on to and their willingness to learn or change the narrative.The power of culture comes about through the fact that the assumptions are shared and, mutually reinforced. One […]
Financial Literacy: Leveraging on Social Habits
Estimates indicate that 2.3 billion working age adults do not have an account at a formal financial institution. One of the main barriers to financial inclusion for this group is financial illiteracy and low trust levels due to lack of information on the financial products. According to the World Bank, financial access facilitates day-to-day living, […]