How Kenya leads Africa in financial inclusion

The Brookings Institution has rated four African countries as top performers in the drive for financial inclusion and affordable financial services.

This rating was issued in the 2016 Financial and Digital Inclusion project 2016 of the body. The project is used to evaluate access and usage of affordable financial service for people in 26 countries around the world.

The African countries are Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda.

Financial inclusion has been identified a vital tool for poverty reduction and wealth creation. At present, there are about two billion people without access to affordable financial services across the globe.

African countries are inventing their ways towards financial inclusion through the use of technology.

In the past decade, African countries have been deploying technology, especially mobile banking initiatives, to drive financial inclusions in the region.

Hence, the performance of Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in this regard.

Also, the report placed Kenya, Colombia, Brazil and South Africa ahead of other countries across the globe on the initiatives towards extending financial services to its citizens.

Kenya’s money market is considered the most matured in the world. This is driven by the widespread success of M-Pesa service in the country.