CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA
SPEAKING NOTES
BY
PROFESSOR NJUGUNA NDUNG’U
GOVERNOR
CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA AND
CHAMPION OF THE FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION PARTNERSHIP (FEPP)
AT THE
FEPP TASKFORCE AND MEDIA PRACTITIONERS RETREAT
Great Rift Valley Lodge, Naivasha
22nd October, 2010

Ms. Bilha Maina, Project Manager, FEPP;
Facilitators;
FEPP Members;
Media Practitioners;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am pleased to join you this afternoon at this important retreat at which FEPP
is reflecting on its three years of existence. More importantly, the partnership
is charting a path for the future. I am also privileged to serve as the Champion
of FEPP, a responsibility that has been rewarding and satisfying.
The partnership has made an important contribution in creating a platform to
discuss and exchange knowledge on financial education and consumer
protection. In this regard, I commend the project manager and members of
the partnership for the role they have played towards this end.
Financial education and consumer protection are drawing global attention as
critical cogs in the financial inclusion agenda. As you may be aware, at the
Pittsburgh G20 Summit in September 2009, the G20 Leaders committed to
improving access to financial services for the poor and directed the
establishment of a G20 Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG). The group
was tasked with identifying innovative ways of scaling up access to financial
services to the poor through innovation and identifying successful SME
financing models that could be replicated to enhance access to finance for
SMEs.
The FIEG has formulated nine principles that can be adopted by countries to
scale up access to finance by the poor. Of particular relevance are principles on
protection and empowerment. The principal on protection encourages a
comprehensive approach to consumer protection that recognises the roles of
government, providers and consumers. While the principle on empowerment

recommends the development of financial literacy and financial capability
programmes.
The principles are expected to be tabled for adoption at the G20 Seoul Leaders
Summit scheduled for mid November 2010. Developing countries have had an
input into these principles particularly through the Alliance for Financial
Inclusion (AFI). AFI together with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
(CGAP) acted as the Joint Secretariat for the G20 FIEG. AFI brings together
policy makers from over 50 developing countries from Africa, Latin America,
the Middle East and Asia to share knowledge on cutting edge financial
inclusion policies.
We anticipate that with the adoption of the financial inclusion principles, a
significant resource envelope will be available to support financial education
and consumer protection initiatives. This retreat should therefore come up
with concrete work plans that can leverage on these resources. The Central
Bank of Kenya is the current Chair of AFI and we are willing and ready to
showcase FEPPs initiatives through this global platform.
On the Domestic Scene, Kenya’s financial sector continues to experience
phenomenal growth. Close to 13 million Kenyans access mobile money
transfer services while the banking and deposit taking microfinance
institutions house close to 12 million accounts. Just five years ago, the banking
sector only held 2.5 million accounts.
Kenya has indeed become a global showcase of how innovative policies and
use of technology can rapidly and massively upscale financial reach and depth.
But as Kenya banks millions every year, enhanced consumer protection and
financial education become imperative. These programs should cover the
three categories of consumers that most of you in the partnership are aware of
i.e. the “underserved and unbanked’’, the “middle income disciplined

planners” and the “elite but sometimes risky banked segment”. But
of course financial education is critical as a first step.
The recent promulgation of the New Constitution is also noteworthy. The new
Constitution entrenches consumer protection in the Bill of Rights and compels
Parliament to enact consumer protection legislation. These local developments
provide FEPP with opportunities to contribute to and shape the national
agenda on financial education and consumer protection. The partnership’s
experience in the last three years puts it in a vantage position to provide
leadership as the country puts in place a comprehensive consumer protection
and financial education framework.
In a nutshell therefore, the partnership must now sharpen its focus and
provide leadership locally but also leverage on its membership to shape the
global agenda. In the next phase of the partnership’s life, let’s aspire to leave a
footprint through development of a comprehensive national financial
education strategy and consumer protection framework.
I wish to end my remarks at this juncture and allow for an interactive session
where we can sharpen the key priorities that you have identified over the last
few days.
I thank you