This archive report was first published on 6 January 2020.
Kenya has made significant strides in financial inclusion over the past two decades, with the country's long-term development blueprint Vision 2030 aiming to transform it into a middle-income nation by 2030.
According to the 2019 FinAcess Household Survey, the adult population with access to formal financial services has increased dramatically from 26.7 percent in 2006 to 82.9 percent in 2019.
Mobile money has played a revolutionary role in formal financial inclusion, with the Financial Access Survey (FAS) report 2018 showing that bank branches grew from 230 in 2004 to 2,833 in 2018.
Agency banking and digital finance have also contributed to the growth, with over 80 percent of the Kenyan population within three km of any financial source point, according to FSD Kenya 2018.
However, despite the progress, access to financial services remains a challenge, with the poorest 55 percent still facing exclusion and low usage rates.
There is still much to be done to ensure these achievements remain sustainable and cost-effective for poverty reduction and job creation.
As the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeeper's Report, 2019, notes, 'Merely having and using a bank account changes women's lives, by giving them decision-making power over the family's finances.'
