Patrick Njoroge: Kenya's Finaccess Survey 2021
Remarks by Dr Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, at the Central Bank of
Kenya-Alliance for Financial Inclusion webinar, Nairobi, 1 March 2022.
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Good Morning! I am delighted to welcome you all to the CBK-AFI Webinar on Kenya's Finaccess
Survey 2021. At the outset, let me acknowledge the support of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion
(AFI), one of our worthy partners in formulating and executing the survey. Indeed, AFI has walked
with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) over the last thirteen years in Kenya's financial inclusion
transformation journey. We are particularly grateful for the opportunity today to share the survey
with the breadth of AFI members. More importantly, we look forward to drawing from their varied
experiences to enhance the survey and our other financial inclusion initiatives.
A useful starting point, would be asking ourselves why surveys such as this matter. At CBK, our
vision is to be a data-focused organization that drives insight, facilitates efficient oversight and
informs well researched policy through credible data. This is a vision that is embraced by many
of the central banks and other institutions represented here. The COVID-19 pandemic has only
served to accentuate the importance of data, science and facts. It has become even more
evident that good data is essential to making informed, prudent and credible decisions.
The pandemic has tested the effectiveness of traditional data sources and policymakers have
had to step up to fill the gaps. Policymakers have increased the use of faster indicators, such as
mobility data or granular payment transactions. At CBK, we have had to turn to new, higher
frequency data sources. These include:
- to gauge recovery through occupancy levels in the hotels and
Hotels survey
accommodation sector.
- assessing recovery through export orders and employment levels.
Flower farms survey
Chief Executives Officer (CEOs) Survey - Introduced to gauge among others business
confidence and risk perception.
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Perception Survey - This is a regular MPC survey
covering commercial banks and other private sector actors on their perception of key
economic issues including inflation and growth. It was enhanced to obtain pandemic related
information and extended coverage of private sector firms.
A key milestone in CBK's journey towards data-centricity was the launch last week on February
25, of the Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW). EDW is a strategic and transformative initiative
that gives CBK an opportunity to become a data driven Central Bank through automation of data
collection, storage and analysis. In particular, it will provide a centralized depository of data,
shortening the time it takes to prepare and generate business reports while ensuring their
accuracy.
Turning back to the Finaccess Survey 2021, it has continued to be a reliable workhorse in our
data stable. This being the sixth survey since the 2006 baseline, it remained faithful to the original
principles of enhancing financial inclusion measurement; providing better understanding of the
financial inclusion landscape over time; and informing other actors in the financial inclusion
space. It was unique in a number of ways. Firstly, it was undertaken as the COVID-19 pandemic
evolved and mutated. Secondly, it drilled down to the 47 administrative units (counties) that
constitute Kenya. Lastly, it covered all dimensions of financial inclusion (access, usage, quality
and impact) including sustainable/green finance and financial health.
The survey's topline findings were:
First, the financial inclusion landscape was impacted by COVID-19 with overall financial
access increasing to 83.7 percent of adults in 2021, from 82.9 percent in 2019, mainly driven
by the use of technology.
Second, the adult population that reported to be completely excluded from accessing any
form of financial services or products increased to 11.6 percent in 2021, from 11.0 percent
in 2019. This in part reflected the impact of COVID-19 restrictions that made it difficult for
youths turning 18 years to take national identity cards, a prerequisite for accessing formal
financial services.
Third, the usage and quality of financial services and products continue to deepen on
account of among other factors, increased adoption of technology and innovations.
Technology is playing a critical role in closing the financial inclusion gap among the genders
and across the country.
As I draw to a close, let me leave you with three key takeaways from the survey to reflect on and
deliberate on. First, surveys such as this are a critical cog in translating the vision of being a
organization into reality. This is indeed true for countries at different levels of
data driven
financial inclusion. This is as true for Kenya that has been on the financial inclusion journey for
long, as it is for a country contemplating its first financial inclusion survey. For the pioneers, it is
about moving beyond access to financial services to usage and quality. For countries at nascent
stages, it is about understanding access to financial services and what needs to be done to
accelerate this.
Second, it is about collaboration. One entity cannot do this alone. We have over the various
rounds of our finaccess surveys increased the number of our national, regional and international
partners. As I earlier initimated, we acknowledge the very important role that AFI has played in the
current survey. You will continually need to cultivate the relationships with core and other
partners in the public and private sectors. In our case, the Financial Sector Deepening Trust,
Kenya, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and other players including commercial banks
have been valuable partners. Over time as the financial inclusion landscape changes, priorities
for some of the partners may change, but the core partners must remain focused on the vision.
Ultimately, the survey is about financial inclusion for the shared prosperity of our citizens.
Third, surveys take time, effort and resources. It has taken significant time, effort and
resources to land the survey amidst turbulent storms and winds. Designing and conducting the
survey during the pandemic presented novel challenges. In the midst of the pandemic, the health
and safety of the teams conducting the survey remained paramount. We could not move at the
pace we desired, as the pandemic peaked and ebbed and containment measures were imposed
and eased. But in the midst of all these challenges, the vision of financial inclusion for the shared
prosperity of our citizens remained our beacon in a dark ocean.
Last Wednesday, we launched our National Payments Strategy for 2022-2025. The Strategy
provides guide posts for the next chapter of Kenya's payments journey. In particular, it seeks to
realise our vision of "a secure, fast, efficient and collaborative payments system that supports
financial inclusion and innovations that benefit Kenyans." Let it be clear that without the FinAcess
Survey, our National Payments Strategy would have been a weak document.
We are at different stages of our respective financial inclusion journeys. For those who are
starting on their financial inclusion survey journey, I urge you to take the plunge. We will be with
you, to ensure a smooth landing. For those already on the journey, let's continue walking
together, sharing experiences and learning from each other, for this is ultimately about enhancing
the lives and livelihoods of our people.
Thank You!