Financial access in Kenya
Financial sector stakeholders agree that there is a serious problem of limited access to financial services in Kenya among lower income and rural households. Considerable efforts have been made to address this problem that impacts directly on the livelihoods of poorer people as well as economic growth.
The Government of Kenya’s Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation specifically cites the importance of the financial system and the need to improve access to financial services across the economy – especially in the agriculture sector, and among micro and small enterprises. However, despite agreement regarding the limited access to funding, there has been no reliable data to indicate the extent of the limitations and therefore no means of measuring progress made by the government, the financial services industry and development partners in addressing the challenge of accessing financial services.
In short, there has been no clear quantitative measure to gauge the extent of access to financial services in Kenya.
