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:

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,...

Conversation with Jonathon Freeman

Jonathon Freeman is a founding member of the Native Roots Network, an Indigenous community development organization that, most notably, has curated and organized Our Story: Native Art Exhibitions, advocated for Indigenous cultural revitalization, the protection of Indigenous lands and sacred...

Conversation with Joshua Amponsem

Joshua Amponsem, a Ghanaian climate activist, is the Co-Director of the Youth Climate Justice Fund initiative and former Climate Lead at the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. With over eight years of experience in climate action, disaster...

Portland group works to make wealth redistribution a reality through real estate

From Tiffany Camhi / OPB: Volunteers of the PDX Housing Solidarity Project are working to redistribute generational wealth through homeownership in Portland. The project connects people with ample resources to Black and Indigenous homebuyers and helps facilitate cash gifts, no-interest...

Car Free Day: Global health leaders join Kigali residents in ‘Africa Walks against Malaria’

From Frank Ntarindwa / The New Times: ‘Kigali’s “Car Free Day” not only boasts an increase in residents’ activity levels, it also creates a space for more knowledge and service sharing for health conditions including Malaria.’ Screenings for non-communicable diseases...

How going solar is helping U.S. schools save millions

From Nikolay Nikolov / Mashable: School districts in the United States are switching to solar power to save money on utilities and sell extra power back to the power grid. They use the savings to increase teachers’ pay and upgrade...