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:

Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local...

New data shows success of Durham’s guaranteed income program

From Sarah Krueger / WRAL News: Step Up Durham’s Guaranteed Basic Income Program gives 109 people who were formerly incarcerated $600 a month, no questions asked. The purpose of the monthly payments is to help people who may need extra...

Conversation with Gary Cohen

Gary Cohen is co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm, an organization that works on environmentally sustainable healthcare and was created in 1996 to help transform the health care sector support the health and climate resilience of the communities...

Conversation with Mariana Madureira

Mariana is the co-founder of Raízes Sustainable Development. She has a wide experience in management of collaborative projects, sustainable tourism, and dialogue with traditional communities. She enjoys formulating strategies in order to bring collective dreams into reality and has always...

The Guaranteed Income Program That’s Helping Black Moms – and Trying to Change the World

From Candice Helfand-Rogers / The Story Exchange: In Jackson, Mississippi, the nonprofit-run Magnolia Mother’s Trust is a guaranteed income program providing a no-strings-attached monthly stipend of $1,000 to Black mothers living in affordable housing to help them combat poverty. Click...

Conversation with Tasnim Elboute

Tasnim Elboute coordinates the High Atlas Cultural Landscapes Programme of the Global Diversity Foundation, focusing on biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods to advance community-led development and environmental justice in Morocco. She plays a key role in fostering partnerships and implementing...