What Kenya can teach its neighbors — and the US — about improving the lives of the “unbanked”

From Kelsey Piper / Vox: Mobile banking in Kenya has increased economic mobility for families living in poverty. The mobile money system is not connected to bank accounts, making it accessible to the overwhelming majority of Kenyans who don’t have bank accounts but do have cell phones. Mobile banking allows deposits and withdrawals as well as transfers, and has allowed families to save money to use when their income, often from farming, takes a hit thus creating a security net for themselves and allowing them to receive funds from friends and family. Savings allow families to meet basic needs and access medical care if necessary.

Read the original story here.

Issue Areas:

Financial Institutions, Poverty Reduction Measures, Public Banking, Technology

Impact Areas:

Equity

Actors:

Lending, Banking, and Financial Institutions, Workers / Labor Unions

Communities Served:

Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship, Rural Communities, Workers

Strategies:

Collective Action, Designing Culturally Specific Solutions

Success Factors:

Building Distribution Systems, Eliminating Barriers, Empowering People, Expanding Access, Leveraging Technology, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges, Using A Comprehensive Approach

Geographic Region:

Africa

Countries:

Kenya

Date:

September 11, 2020

More Resources:

The Supermarket Lending Shoppers Money for Groceries

From Katherine Latham / Reasons to Be Cheerful: In the United Kingdom, the supermarket Iceland Foods gives out interest-free microloans on pre-loaded cards during school holidays for families to spread out their grocery bills over time when finances are most...

A revolution in helping Africa’s poor: Cash with no strings attached

From Katharine Houreld / The Washington Post: GiveDirectly runs a program that gives a lump sum of cash directly to those in need, without needing to qualify with other specifications (such as school enrollment or vaccination status). Lump sum funds...

Conversation with Ana Rosa de Lima

Ana Rosa de Lima is the founder of Meli Bees Network gUG, a nonprofit driven by a new generation of climate activists from the Amazon. Her organization is dedicated to connecting Indigenous communities, researchers, and environmentally engaged groups around the...

Aging states to college graduates: We’ll pay you to stay

From Jon Marcus / The Hechinger Report: As their workforces age, states across the United States are offering student loan repayment to incentivize college graduates to stick around. Now Maine and Vermont are the first to offer it to those...

Conversation with Michael Sani

Michael Sani is the founder of Play Verto, a platform that leverages play and gamification to transform traditional research and foster a sense of belonging among its players. With over 12 years of experience in strategizing and co-creating initiatives for...

Dubai becomes world’s first paperless government

From Varun Godinho / Gulf Business: The government of Dubai became the world’s first paperless government with all 45 government entities providing digital services. Becoming entirely digital has been more efficient for public service delivery and reduces harmful environmental impacts....