Financial Technology (FinTech) and Financial Inclusion in Kenya
Overview
PSC 2381
Success Case Study Project
Sitting here in the United States, we often hear negative stories related to politics in African countries. This obscures the fact that there are many positive developments on the African continent. The goal of this project is to research an example of such a positive development. To do so, you will create a research paper that investigates and explains an example of success (broadly defined) in a sub- Saharan African country. Make a decision about your topic .
Steps
Step 1: Choose a domain that interests you. This could be something that we have focused on in class, or an area that is relevant to Africa in some way. Potential areas to investigate include: Public health or covid-19, technology, climate and the environment, corruption, economic growth or poverty alleviation, democratization, political violence, gender issues, ethnic or intergroup politics, regional cooperation, and so on.
Step 2: Conduct research to find cases of success in your specific domain. Cases of success can be at the level of countries — for example, countries that have successfully reduced corruption, have been able to fight diseases such as HIV/AIDS, or have experienced economic growth — or at the level of communities or regions — for example, specific areas in countries where programs have been particularly successful. Cases could also be at the level of regional or sub-regional organizations — for example the African Union or ECOWAS.
Step 3: Research and prepare Structure of the Research paper
Your research paper should include the following 5 sections.
1. What is the domain of focus and how is it characterized in the broader African region?
2. How does this problem apply to the case (country) at hand?
3. What does the intervention — program(s), policy(ies), reform effort(s), etc — consist of?
4. Why is this a case of success? What happened that made this successful?
5. What are the broader policy implications or take-aways? What are lessons learned for other countries or communities struggling with similar challenges?
6. Works cited/References [must include at least two African scholars or writers, more is great as well]
Financial Technology (FinTech) and Financial Inclusion in Kenya
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Introduction
The Domain of Focus: Technology
Rapid technological development provides huge difficulties and substantial possibilities for policymakers in developing nations. Automation, AI, and FinTech are just a few examples of emerging technologies that can potentially transform not just personal and professional lives but whole industries and even traditional theories of economic growth (Salam et al., 2018). The positive effects of technical development on productivity and demand for products and services are apparent. It might cause a shift in production to lower-wage countries and a rise in unemployment and help some nations "leapfrog" while hindering others' attempts at growth, particularly those prioritizing export-driven manufacturing.
Fintech is used to describe the delivery of financial services via information and communication technologies (ALHASSAN & Yengeni, 2022). Technology has been growing swiftly throughout the African continent, revolutionizing many different industries and making it easier for more people to have access to the services they need. The proliferation of mobile devices, the spread of high-speed Internet, and the popularity of start-ups are all elements that have contributed to this technological development.
The lack of availability of conventional banking services is a longstanding problem for the African economy, as it is for other emerging nations. A lack of banking services has severely hampered people's access to inexpensive money transfers, credit, savings accounts, and other financial goods. Individuals and economies are both impacted by this phenomenon known as financial exclusion. Participation in the financial system has been demonstrated to assist individuals in saving, investing, and weathering financial shocks, all contributing to a reduced likelihood of falling into poverty (ALHASSAN & Yengeni, 2022). Financial inclusion refers to a population's capacity to use the financial system for risk management and service access. Access to a bank account and the habitual use that maximizes its benefits are the foundations of financial inclusion. With this end in mind, organizations worldwide have launched initiatives like the World Bank's 2020 universal financial access effort.
Problem Application to Kenya
Kenya is a middle-to-low-income nation that relies heavily on a few large banks. Customers at the retail level in a nation like this often enter the financial system via the banking system (Ndung'u, 2017). Most consumers are content with the most fundamental options, such as making purchases and sending and receiving little money. Lack of access to standard financial services was a significant issue in pre-2007 Kenya (Ndung'u, 2017). In 2006, when Kenya conducted its first comprehensive study on financial inclusion, just 27% of adults were found to have used a formal financial service. Although a large percentage of people in Kenya used informal services, almost 40% of the country's population lacked access to official financial services (Ndung'u, 2017). Especially in more rural areas, there existed a sizable population who could not make use of standard banking options. Fewer opportunities existed for people and businesses, and the economy suffered. In addition, most monetary transactions were made in cash, which increased the already high prices, posed security risks, and was not preferable.
Intervention: M-Pesa
Since its launch in 2007, M-Pesa has dramatically shifted Kenya's monetary landscape. The results of several studies of households demonstrate that financial inclusion has risen considerably during the last decade. Financial institutions such as commercial banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, savings and loan cooperatives (SACCOs), and insurance companies served just 18.9% of the population in 2006 (Ndung'u, 2017). The Postbank, microfinance companies and SACCOs that exclusively provide credit, and the National Social Security Fund are only some official but not prudentially monitored services utilized by 7.5% of adult Kenyans (Ndung'u, 2017). In 2016, 42.3% and 33 percent of Kenyans had access to these facilities.
M-Pesa's Success
There are three perspectives through which the success of M-Pesa may be evaluated. First, M-Pesa contributed to creating an effective, efficient, and transparent national payment system via the transfer and payment of goods and services. Second, the M-Pesa technology platform has advanced to the point where it is helpful for micro savers and depositors alike.
Finally, with the advancement of the M-Pesa technology platform, an effective and efficient platform for short-term microcredit has been made available without the need to visit a bank. Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and other partners funded trips to Kenya so that different countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia could see how M-Pesa operated and learn what they might do to implement a similar distributed financial services (DFS) network in their nations (Ndung'u, 2021). Kenya joined ...
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