regard, as i have always done, i thank all the institutions under the financial access partnership that have contributed in various ways towards the spatial mapping project and the bill and melinda gates foundation. i urge financial services providers and the domestic sector regulators to work out modalities of collecting the spatial data of all the financial services touch points. the research and policy analysis department of the bank will champion these efforts. with these few remarks, ladies and gentlemen, i welcome you to this breakfast event and launch the financial access web portal and look forward to further fruitful deliberations. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

to banks. for example, kenyans living within 3km of a mobile phone money agent is 58. 6 % or 23. 64 million compared to only 21. 2 % or 8. 57 million living near a bank branch. ladies and gentlemen : the results we are releasing today are as a result of developments in the wider economy, infrastructural facilities, technological innovation, institutional developments, natural features, as well as financial system policy and regulatory reforms, increased competition and innovations in the financial market. these developments have set off a dramatic shift away from the traditional delivery of financial services. in the delivery of financial services, innovations using technology such as automatic teller machines ( atms ), point - of - sale ( pos ) devices, the internet and mobile phone platforms and its interlinkages with financial institutions platforms have accelerated and moved us closer to branchless banking. we, however, still have some ground to cover in expanding access to financial services, given that about 25 % of the population remains totally excluded. ladies and gentlemen : the information generated by this spatial mapping exercise will help financial service providers identify where opportunities exist. i am delighted that the sector now has such a useful information resource at its disposal. the results from all these efforts will help the public and private sector to better understand the developments and dynamism of the broader kenyan financial market landscape and its dynamics in order to develop appropriate policy strategies and products as well as delivery channels to targeted clientele that they have not served before. ladies and gentlemen : the gis spatial mapping project brings forth more information necessary to satisfy the objectives of the financial access partnership, which remain ; ( i ) to provide information to policymakers about the main barriers to financial access and inclusion ; bis central bankers ’ speeches ( ii ) to provide information to the private sector on market conditions and opportunities ; ( iii ) to provide a solid empirical basis to track progress on financial inclusion and evaluate the effect of government, donor and industry led initiatives ; ( iv ) to provide data for use in research into the impact of access to financial services and products on growth, development and poverty reduction. in conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, let me also observe that the finaccess studies have been championed and driven by a partnership between public and private institutions. i commend and support such initiatives and hope that this lays the foundation for a deeper and sustained partnership between the public and private sector in tackling the challenges and taking advantage of opportunities that arise. in this