SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA,
C.G.H., PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA AND
COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES
DURING THE INAUGURAL AFRO-ASIA FINTECH
FESTIVAL AT THE KENYA SCHOOL OF MONETARY
STUDIES, NAIROBI ON 15TH JULY, 2019
Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and
Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Singapore and
Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It is my distinct pleasure to join you for the inaugural
Afro-Asia Fintech Festival. We thank our co-hosts, the Central
Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS), for convening this Festival.
2. Nairobi City is delighted to play host to the world’s
first Afro-Asia Fintech convocation.
Distinguished Delegates,
3. I am also delighted to welcome Senior Minister
Tharman and his delegation which features representation
from over 20 Singaporean companies, just over a year after
his last visit.
4. Senior Minister, your visit and the growing partnership
between our two monetary regulators as evidenced by the
joint-hosting of this forum is further testament of the
deepening of the relationship between Singapore and Kenya. I
salute all Central Bank Governors, Regulators and Captains of
Industry present today, drawn from around the globe and I
welcome you all to Magical Kenya.

5. The World is in the midst of an unprecedented revolution
in the Information and Technology arena, one which has
impacted every Sector of the Economy and Social Life; bringing
Peoples and Nations together and making the world a true
global village. Properly harnessed and channelled,
innovations in Information and Technology are a sure
path to greater Freedom, Prosperity and Fraternity for
all humanity.
6. In Governance, the use of Technology and new ways to
gather, store, interpret and disseminate Information has
provided new and exciting frontiers in the delivery of Public
Goods and Services. Financial Technology in particular
presents an opportunity for deepening of trade and investment
links across the globe; as evidenced by this Forum which seeks
to strengthen and expand the millennia of economic and social
links between our two great continents by building a digital
bridge between Africa and Asia.
Distinguished Delegates,
7. Join me in applauding the CBK and MAS for their signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will underpin
co-operation in innovation between our two Central Banks. I
am pleased to note that the MOU sets the foundation for joint
innovation projects on the application of key emerging
technologies such as digital and mobile payments, block
chain, big data and artificial intelligence. These projects
will enhance the digital infrastructure in both countries and
catalyse trade and investments between Africa and Asia.
8. In Kenya, citizens began to trade goods and services with
mobile phone airtime units. This was what inspired M-PESA, a
revolutionary money transfer platform that has radically

transformed the conduct of business across all sectors of our
economy, a transformative solution that has gained global
acclaim in enhancing financial inclusion.
9. The M-Pesa money transfer service has in effect become a
global poster child for financial services innovation.
10. Riding on mobile phone financial services, access to
financial services in Kenya has more than tripled from 26
percent in 2006 to 82 percent in 2019. More importantly,
mobile phone financial services have lifted thousands of
Kenyans out of poverty and enhanced their livelihoods. We are
scoring astounding accomplishments.
11. Technology-driven financial inclusion is not a success story
limited to Kenya alone but rather one which is evidenced in
every country in Africa.
12. All African countries have driven transformation of their
financial inclusion landscapes by leveraging on mobile phone
technology in one way or another. Indeed, Africa has one of
the fastest growing mobile phone adoption and penetration
rates globally. However, with a continental average
penetration rate of approximately 44 percent against a global
average of approximately 66 percent, Africa still has
tremendous space for growth in Mobile Phone Penetration and
the attendant opportunities in delivery of Financial Services
through mobile phones.
13. In Kenya, other ground breaking innovations include: MKOPA, a service delivery innovation in the power and lighting
subsector has enabled many rural households to receive solar
lighting, thus liberating families from the time-consuming

pursuit of firewood and kerosene fuels while also enabling
children to study longer at night.
14. Similarly, the Government has recognized the vast
untapped potential of capital raising through issuance of Bonds
accessible to ordinary Kenyans for whom traditional investment
and brokerage platforms are inconvenient or remote. In that
vein, in 2017 the Government of Kenya in conjunction with
private sector players launched a mobile centric government
bond dubbed M-Akiba, which enables Kenyans with as little as
USD 30 to participate in the Government Securities
Market.
15. M-Akiba provides a savings mechanism for ordinary
Kenyans who can save a dollar a day, and at the end of 30
days invest in government securities. For my Government, our
key motivation in rolling out this product was to democratise
access to financial services and to give a space at the heart of
the financial system to every Kenyan no matter their location,
social or economic status. In this, we are scoring
astounding accomplishments.
16. Aside from introducing new ways for Kenyans to invest
and for the Government of Kenya to access debt financing from
domestic sources, my Government has also long-sought to
develop ways in which MSMEs can surmount the traditional
constraints to access to loans that arise from lack of collateral
or credit information history. I was therefore pleased when a
consortium of Kenyan banks convened by the CBK launched a
revolutionary MSME credit financing scheme dubbed ‘Stawi’,
which means ‘Prosper’ in Kiswahili.

17. Stawi, whose pilot was launched in May 2019, targets
to provide MSMEs with an ‘anytime-anywhere’ product that
leverages on both traditional and non-traditional sources of
credit information, particularly digital payment footprints arising
from mobile money transactions, in order to allow Banks to
form an accurate credit appraisal of MSMEs for the purposes of
credit rating. The use of big data and artificial intelligence that
the product is built on in effect de-risks the MSMEs and enables
the reduction of credit cost.
18. While Stawi is still in its inception stages I am delighted to
report that Stawi Loans will be offered at single digit interest
rates, greatly enhancing access to credit by MSMEs, which will
ultimately lead to greater shared prosperity of our citizens.
19. These and other innovations in FinTech are tremendous
successes that have been achieved by Kenya in a relatively
short period of time. We shall not rest on our laurels but
instead we shall explore even greater ways to bring the full
benefits of the digital economy to all Kenyans.
20. It was with this imperative in mind that I launched
Kenya’s Digital Economy Blueprint in Kigali, Rwanda in May
2019. The vision of the blueprint is “a digitally empowered
citizenry, living in a digitally enabled society.”
21. We aspire for a Kenya where every citizen, enterprise and
organization has digital access and the capability to participate
and thrive in the digital economy.
22. This is the thinking that informed Kenya’s digital economy
blueprint and its five pillars for a thriving digital economy.
The pillars are: Digital Government, Digital Business,

Infrastructure, Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship
and Digital Skills and Values.
23. The blueprint serves as one of Kenya’s contributions in
championing the growth of an African wide digital economy. It
is our hope and wish that our sister African countries will find
value in Kenya’s blueprint and customize its elements for
adoption within their own ecosystems.
24. This will bring forth an African digital economy that
underpins the growth and prosperity of all our Citizens.
25. To maximize our benefits, we must build ecosystems that
facilitate digital transactions nationally, regionally and globally.
I was therefore pleased to be informed that the first concrete
output of the MOU between CBK and MAS will be on codevelopment of foundational infrastructure on identity, data
and electronic Know-Your Customer procedures (e-KYC).
26. Identity and e-KYC are critical prerequisites to enhancing
financial inclusion while ensuring financial integrity at both
national and cross-border levels.
27. This initiative between our two Central Banks aligns well
with the ongoing drive of my Government to introduce a
‘‘single source of truth’’ digital identity.
28. The resultant new Single Unique Identifier will allow all
persons in Kenya, whether Citizens or Non-Citizens to access
Government Services more expeditiously and efficiently and will
also be leveraged by the private sector to provide for faster
and more secure transactions, particularly in the Financial
Services Sector.

29. FinTech Festivals such as this provide an opportunity
for exchange of ideas and experiences as well as two-way
learning.
30. It is imperative that this Festival provides concrete
deliverables that can be adopted as new solutions or
strengthening of existing ones. It is also important that
FinTech provides an enabling space for the participation of the
Youth, who are the drivers of the New Information Age and the
New Economy. I therefore welcome the move by CBK and
MAS to invite the Youth from our Universities and from the
start-up FinTech space to participate in this seminal event.
31. In particular, I welcome the launch of the Global
Hackathon at this Festival, the first of its kind in the Region.
I am informed that the hackathon will provide young Fintech
entrepreneurs with the opportunity to showcase their skills and
their potential solutions to problem statements on sustainable
finance. Thereafter, there will be afforded with mentoring
opportunities so that they may enhance their skills and
knowledge bases and also develop their solutions.
32. In closing, I look forward not just to collaborations
between governments at this Festival, but also between the
various private sector entities represented here from Africa,
Asia and beyond. It is only through such public and private
sector collaborations and partnerships that we can build truly
robust and resilient digital economies that leave no one behind
and score astounding accomplishments for our citizenry.
33. Beyond the Festival, I urge all our visitors to take time to
experience magical Kenya’s scenic attractions and the warm
hospitality. The timing of the Festival coincides with the annual
wildebeest migration in the legendary theatre of the Maasai

Mara National Reserve and I urge all of you to find time to
witness this phenomenal Wonder of the Nature.
34. When you go back home and as you travel the world, tell
all those you will meet about what you witnessed here. Our
beauty. Our promise. Our values. Our hope.
35. Kenya, East Africa and the African Continent are rising.
Africa is open for business and we urge you to join hands with
us in building a better and more prosperous World for All our
People.
36. It is now my distinct honour to inaugurate the Afro-Asia
Fintech Festival.
Thank You and God Bless You All.