The United Nations
Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development
(UNSGSA), H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is scheduled to visit Kenya on
23-25 October 2023.
The trip represents an opportunity
to meet with key public and private sector leaders to help identify how the
UNSGSA can continue to support and collaborate on various financial inclusion
issues that impact Kenyan communities.
In a statement, it noted that during
the visit, the Special Advocate will focus on several key objectives, including
improving access to quality digital banking services, enhancing resilience in
the face of climate-related challenges, and promoting overall financial health
or well-being.
“These initiatives hold the
potential to better equip individuals and businesses in Kenya with the
necessary financial tools to build better lives and create positive development
outcomes—especially for traditionally underserved groups such as the poor,
women, smallholder farmers, and micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises
(MSMEs),” the
statement said.
“These efforts aim to build upon
financial inclusion progress over the last decade in Kenya, where 79% of adults
have established accounts, up from 42% in 2011, according to the 2021 World
Bank Global Findex Report. Mobile money has played a pivotal role in bridging
the financial inclusion gap, enabling widespread access to financial services.
However, challenges remain, with nearly seven million adults in Kenya still
unbanked, particularly among women and the poor.”
Additionally, findings from the 2021
FinAccess Household Survey reveal a concerning trend in the financial
well-being of Kenyan citizens. The data shows that only 17% of adults possess the
capability, as measured against a set of minimum criteria, to adequately
address their daily needs, manage unexpected challenges, and plan for future
goals. This marks a decline from the nearly 22% reported in 2019. This
heightened vulnerability is primarily due to difficulties affording food and
healthcare. Further, only 5% of Kenyans experiencing a flooding or drought
report using financial services to address the shock. In contrast, 42% of
Kenyans relied on informal sources or sold assets to manage climate shocks.
Queen Máxima will conduct three
"field visits" to speak with local business owners, female
entrepreneurs, and smallholder farmers to hear insights into how they are
leveraging digital financial services and products, as well as what enhancements
and innovations could better serve their financial needs and financial
well-being.
Two of these field visits will take
place on 23 October in Kisumu, near Lake Victoria, where the UNSGSA will speak
with farmers using innovative digital insurance to help mitigate the impacts of
climate events, such as major drought or heavy rainfall. In the event of damage
to crops, the insurer can use satellite information to make a reliable estimate
of the loss of income and pay out the damage amount immediately. The Special
Advocate will also learn about a digital platform for hiring agricultural vehicles,
mainly for small farms. The farmer measures the circumference of the field to
be cultivated via an app, and the platform ensures a match with the owner of an
agricultural vehicle.
During a field visit in Nairobi the
following day, Queen Máxima will speak with a female doctor/clinic owner and
patients about the benefits of digital loans through a medical credit fund.
Female clinic owners often cannot get a loan from a bank. With the credit fund,
they can invest in their hospital and provide better care without the regular
collateral, repaying the loan digitally.
Also, while in Nairobi, it is
foreseen that Queen Máxima will hold bilateral meetings with President Samoei
Ruto; National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna
Ndung’u; Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge; Interior and
National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki; Ministry of
Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud
Owalo; and Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan
Tuya.
Furthermore, she will participate in
a focus group on digital finance with a select group of small entrepreneurs,
receive a briefing from a small group of inclusive finance impact investors,
and attend roundtable meetings on inclusive green finance (IGF), open finance,
and financial health, as well as a roundtable meeting with development partners
in the country. The UNSGSA will also attend a United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) launch event for a new discussion paper on digital financial
inclusion titled, “Addressing Inequality: Universal Access to Digital Financial
Services for Equitable Growth”.
