On August 20, 2010, the 43 members of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI) unanimously signed an Industry Commitment Note [1], wherein each agreed to follow a new set of rules focused on governance, accountability and poverty eradication above “profit greed.” AMFI’s Chairperson, Dr Jennifer Riria, expressed a “growing concern” over mission shift in the industry, a shift away from poverty eradication and toward profiting from the poor [2].

Last month, the number of Kenyans using mobile money transfer services increased significantly after the government updated mobile phone regulations. The new regulation required that mobile phone users register Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, and many mobile phone operators simultaneously registered users for mobile money transfer accounts during SIM registration [3].

By Lindsey Shaughnessy, Research Associate

About Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI): The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AFMI) is an umbrella organization for Kenyan microfinance institutions (MFIs). AMFI was established in 1999 with four main objectives: advocacy and lobbying, capacity building for members, performance monitoring of members and networking and linkages. AMFI presently counts 43 member institutions serving over six million clients holding outstanding loan portfolios of USD 303 million.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya, “Industry Reaches Consensus”, August 23, 2010. http://www.amfikenya.com/pages.php?p=65&ID=26

[2] Vanguard, “Microfinance Rules to Suppress Profit Greed”, August 24, 2010. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/24/microfinance-rules-to-suppress-profit-greed/

[3] MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Regulation in Kenya’s Mobile Industry Leads to Increase in Banked Population as Phone Operators Seize Opportunity to Encourage Mobile Bank Accounts”, July 27, 2010. http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-regulation-in-kenya%E2%80%99s-mobile-industry-leads-to-increase-in-banked-population-as-phone-operators-seize-opportunity-to-encourage-mobile-bank-accounts/

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), “Nonbank E-Money Issuers: Regulatory Approaches to Protecting Consumer Funds” by Michael Tarazi and Paul Breloff, July 2010. http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.45715/FN63_Com.pdf

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI)

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