CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA
Opening Remarks by
PROF. NJUGUNA NDUNG’U
GOVERNOR
and
CHAMPION OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION IN KENYA
PUBLIC SERVICE MASTER TRAINERS WORKSHOP FOR
FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Jumuia Place (NCCK Plaza), Lenana Road, Nairobi
Monday, 12th July 2010
Mr. David Ferrand, Director, FSD Kenya;

Public Sector Master Trainers Program for Financial Education, 12 – 17 July 2010
Ms. Bilha Maina, Project Manager, Financial Education, FSD Kenya;
Facilitators;
Participants;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am delighted and honoured to be here today to officially open this training
workshop geared towards developing master trainers in financial education in the
public sector in Kenya.
To start with, let me extend my appreciation to FSD Kenya for inviting me to
officially open this training workshop. I also thank Microfinance Opportunities for
accepting to facilitate this valuable workshop.
Ladies and Gentlemen: This training workshop aims to achieve four goals. As
participants you will:
• learn about financial education in general;
• develop skills in adult learning and facilitation;
• examine the Global Financial Education Program in detail;
• acquire the necessary tools and skills to train others, and
• equip customers with the knowledge to demand services.
These objectives revolve around the direction we want to take on financial
development. I urge each one of you to go into this programme with an open mind.
The perspective of this training is totally different from the academic courses we
have all gone through - it is a focus on the basics, practicality and application.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Allow me now to briefly share with you, in simple terms,
the role of financial education in financial sector development. As we are all aware,
the global financial sector is extremely dynamic and these dynamics feed into the
domestic financial sector. The innovations have covered financial products, services,
processes and procedures. These innovations are only possible with continuous
upscaling of the financial market players’ knowledge. Similarly, innovations arise
based on market demands which are driven by the desire of customers for a safe
and efficient financial sector. The financial services providers would want to see their
market niche increasing but not be challenged by other competitors. But the

Public Sector Master Trainers Program for Financial Education, 12 – 17 July 2010
customers must use the financial services and demand more of those services. We
did not know what we had missed over the years until M-PESA came to the scene.
When consumers are financially informed they are in a position to demand quality
financial services at fair prices. This makes it necessary for the providers to innovate
products suitable for their customers’ needs. In this regard, the demands by
customers and innovations by financial sector players as a result of being
empowered through financial education drive financial sector development. This
scenario clearly confirms that each one of us requires financial education. All aspects
of our lives entail financial decisions and limited financial knowledge is a precursor
to poor savings and investment decisions.
Ladies and Gentlemen: FSD Kenya and the Central Bank of Kenya in
conjunction with several other financial sector players have undertaken two financial
access surveys (FinAccess) in 2006 and 2009. The surveys were aimed at
establishing the level of Kenya’s population that utilises formal financial services. The
two surveys established the banked population as 19 percent in 2006, It has
increased to 23 percent in 2009. I am sure with financial education and more
products in the market this proportion will increase.
The FinAccess surveys have also included questions on financial literacy and use of
technology in financial transactions. Following the release of the 2006 FinAccess
survey results, FSD Kenya brought together several financial and education sector
players to form the Financial Education Partnership (FEP) to spearhead the
development of a national strategy on financial education. The efforts of the
partnership are progressing well. In addition, I have been appointed as the National
Champion of Financial Education in Kenya and the launch of four pilot projects to
inform what modes of financial education work in Kenya are important dimensions.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Partnership’s quest to develop a national strategy for
financial education in Kenya is mainly informed by the need to protect the
consumers of financial services. The best way to protect consumers is to empower
them with financial knowledge which they can use to demand quality services at fair
prices. As the financial education strategy is being developed, the Government

Public Sector Master Trainers Program for Financial Education, 12 – 17 July 2010
through the Ministries of Finance and Trade are spearheading efforts towards
coming up with a comprehensive financial services consumer protection law.
However, the law alone will not be enough, since for consumers to take advantage
of it they must be enlightened on their rights and obligations regarding financial
transactions.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me now share with you the aspirations of the Central
Bank of Kenya (CBK) as regards financial education. Other than its participation in
the partnership, the core mandates of the Bank, which are price and financial
stability, demand that we explain to the public all that we do to achieve these
mandates. In this regard, CBK takes up available opportunities to disseminate
financial knowledge to the public. In particular, the success of the new developments
in our banking sector such as mobile banking, agent banking and credit information
sharing are pegged on effective awareness and sensitisation of all the players.
The Central Bank has over the past few years increased its level of interaction with
the public. This has enabled us to explain our role in the economy especially the
ongoing initiatives aimed at creating a more stable and efficient financial system as
well as increasing the level of financial access by the Kenyan public. I encourage
each one of you to visit the Central Bank’s website, which has been greatly enriched
to enhance dissemination of information to Kenyans.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am informed that the participants in this
workshop will be certified as master trainers in financial education. In this regard, I
urge all of you to take the workshop seriously and to disseminate the knowledge
gained throughout your organisations and to the public your organisations interact
with. It is only through dissemination of the knowledge that you will acquire over the
next one week that the financial sector and the economy as a whole will benefit.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Being cognisant of the intensive training programme
ahead of you, I shall not extend my remarks any further. I therefore take this
opportunity to wish all of you an enjoyable and exciting workshop.

Public Sector Master Trainers Program for Financial Education, 12 – 17 July 2010
With these few remarks, ladies and gentlemen, it is now my honour and pleasure to
declare this training workshop officially opened.
Thank You and God bless you all.