Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya), a Kenyan trust that seeks to develop the capacity of the financial services industry, in partnership with Microfinance Opportunities, a microenterprise resource center based in Washington, DC, recently hosted a workshop on “financial diaries”, which are year-long surveys that examine financial management in poor households. The following findings, based on the implementation of the diaries in Kenya, were announced: 1) low-income households handle “a lot of cash” on a weekly basis, 2) 95 percent of transactions are in cash, with the remaining 5 percent made through M-Pesa, 3) 80 percent of e-money flows are among family and friends, 4) 75 percent of M-Pesa remittances are cashed out, mostly within a day and 5) M-Pesa users are “less vulnerable to health shocks” [1].
Managers from ten Kenyan banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) including Equity Bank, Safaricom and Postbank were present at the workshop, which was hosted by Guy Stuart, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University, and Monique Cohen, CEO of Microfinance Opportunities.
By: Alexandra Pattee, Research Associate
About Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya): Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) is a trust founded in 2005 that seeks to develop the capacity of the financial services industry by working directly with financial institutions, service providers and support institutions. FSD Kenya operates independently under two supervising entities, KPMG Kenya, the Kenyan subsidiary of the global professional services firm KPMG, and FSD Kenya’s programme investment committee.
About Microfinance Opportunities (MFO): Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) is a microenterprise resource center based in Washington, DC, that promotes “client-led microfinance.” Established in 2002 as a nonprofit organization, MFO’s goal is to increase access to financial services through partnerships with organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Sources and Resources:
[1] Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Press Release, “Financial Diaries Executive Workshop”, http://www.fsdkenya.org/news/finDiaries.php
MicroCapital.org Article, January 2, 2011, “Microfinance Opportunities (MFO), MasterCard Foundation Announce Branchless Banking Partnership with MTN Ghana, Mobile Transactions of Zambia”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-opportunities-mfo-mastercard-foundation-announce-branchless-banking-partnership-with-mtn-ghana-mobile-transactions-of-zambia/
MicroCapital.org Article, June 26, 2009, “FinAccess 2009 Survey, Released by Financial Sector Deepening Kenya and Central Bank of Kenya, Shows African MFIs Fill Banking Void as New Laws Provide More Flexibility”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-story-finaccess-2009-survey-released-by-financial-sector-deepening-kenya-and-central-bank-of-kenya-shows-african-mfis-fill-banking-void-as-new-laws-provide-more-flexibility/
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: Microfinance Opportunities https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Mic
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Financial+Sector+Deepening+Kenya+%28FSD+Kenya%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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