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:

Conversation with Ai-jen Poo

Ai-jen Poo is the President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Director of Caring Across Generations. A nationally recognized expert on elder care, family care, the future of work, gender equality, immigration, and grassroots organizing, she is also the...

Conversation with Ted Rau

Passionate about transforming how organizations operate, Ted Rau specializes in sociocracy and governance systems that empower collective intelligence and foster meaningful collaboration. As the co-founder of Sociocracy For All and the Governance Lead at Dark Matter Labs, his work focuses...

How financial counseling at the pediatrician’s office can help families thrive

From Pien Huang / NPR: In an effort to improve child healthcare, a program at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center matches low-income families with financial coaches when they come in for their child’s appointments. The coaches help them address financial stressors,...

How Norway Built an Economy That Puts People First

From Isabella Breda / Yes! Magazine: Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a “decades-long effort to create an equitable economy” that helped the government to enact a package that...

Conversation with Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer is the co-founder of Ayeko Farms, an initiative focused on sustainable agriculture and building community resilience through farming practices. She works to promote environmental sustainability and social equity by fostering deeper connections between communities and the land. Deepa...

Conversation with Xavina Walbert & Karen Suarez

Karen Suarez is the Vice President of Collective Impact at the Making Hope Happen Foundation, where she supports Uplift San Bernardino through cross-sector collaboration and collective action. Passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, she leverages her experience to strengthen organizational...