few short months. but in all this doom and gloom, the resilience of the human spirit has shone through — like green shoots pushing through a fertile field. the theme of this conference, “ embracing disruption - building resilience ’ ’ is quite timely as we reflect on our collective challenges and triumphs during this period. digitalization, the theme i have been asked to focus on, has seen us through this difficult period. in the context of the covid - 19 containment measures — and particularly movement restrictions and curfews — digital platforms have enabled our citizens to access financial, health, education and medical services, entertainment, and shop online. in kenya, the digital rails built over the last fifteen years have been a saving grace as we have battled covid - 19. the starting point of kenya ’ s digital rails in march 2007 was in using mobile phones to serve a need to transfer money from urban workers back to their families in the rural areas. these p2p transfers were supported by a network of agents who facilitated cash withdrawals and cashing in. shortly thereafter, kenya ’ s long - term development plan, vision 2030, was rolled out in 2008 with the overarching objective of improving the livelihood of all kenyans through shared prosperity. financial services were identified as a key enabler, but requiring a dramatic transformation as only 26 percent of adult kenyans could access the formal financial system in 2006. this transformative imperative supported the growth of mobile phone financial services from payments to an elaborate ecosystem that includes other financial services such as savings, credit, insurance, pensions and capital markets. at the same time, the percentage of kenyans accessing financial services had tripled from 26 percent in 2006 to 82 percent in 2019. pushing further ahead, our vision is the democratization of financial services, which customers can access anytime anywhere. what were the pillars that have anchored our financial transformation journey? first, it is not about the technology but the problem at hand. it is easy to get caught up in the fanciness of technology and exotic labels — blockchain, artificial intelligence ( ai ), internet of things ( iot ). unfortunately, often times fintechs and other startups may focus on the features of the technology, and not how it solves a problem. the mobile phone in our case offered a platform to resolve distance, cost and time constraints that kenyans had faced in accessing money transfer and other financial services. the focus must be on

boosting broad based growth. on the financial sector front, the central bank in conjunction with the government will scale up reforms to enhance the sector ’ s competitiveness, efficiency, access and stability as well as making kenya a financial hub in the medium term. the banking sector is also expected to continue with its ’ excellent performance underpinned by regional expansion and lowered cost of business as the various reforms take root. looking ahead for monetary policy, the priority is to reverse inflation and inflationary expectations and exchange rate volatility to protect the economic growth base. tight monetary policy will be sustained until inflationary pressures have been reversed and the foreign exchange market stabilized. from a historical perspective, we have seen the same measures work and we still have confidence it will work in 2012. the bank will also continue with regular interactions with key stakeholders including market players to enhance the effectiveness of the transmission mechanism of monetary policy and other policy strategy actions. in closing, ladies and gentlemen, let me thank you all for the support and cooperation in developing the financial sector. i look forward to more fruitful collaboration and partnership going forward and in addressing any challenges facing the sector. lastly, let me end by wishing you all a happy holiday season and fruitful 2012. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches