njuguna ndung ’ u : investing differently in women speech by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the african women ’ s economic summit, nairobi, 18 – 20 march 2010. * * * the right hon. raila odinga, prime minister of the republic of kenya ; hon. uhuru kenyatta, deputy prime minister and minister for finance of the republic of kenya ; mrs. graca machel, founder, new faces, new voices network ; dr. donald kaberuka, president, african development bank ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : first, rt. hon. prime minister, may i take this opportunity to thank you most sincerely for finding time from your busy schedule to grace this important forum whose theme is investing differently in women. your presence demonstrates the seriousness with which the government of kenya embraces the role of women and participation in the development process and more importantly their role in the financial sector. may i also heartily thank the new faces, new voices network ( nfnv ), the founder madame graca machel and the african development bank ( afdb ) represented by the president, dr. donald kaberuka for choosing to host the inaugural african women ’ s economic summit ( awes ) in nairobi. this is a great honour to us in kenya. i also warmly welcome all international delegates represented here including fellow central bankers from the region. the rt. hon. prime minister, the central bank of kenya is delighted to partner with afdb and nfvn in this summit especially when the central bank and indeed the government of kenya is in the process of promoting more inclusive financial policies. in the recent past, the government has introduced new institutions to support, shape and deepen the financial sector. examples include : licensing and supervision of deposit taking microfinance institutions ; savings and credit co - operatives ( saccos ) and the saccos regulatory authority ; amendment of the banking act to allow shariah - compliant banking products ; licensing of credit reference bureaus to facilitate credit information sharing ; agent banking for cost effective financial outreach. since we have seen commercial bank branch expansion by over 100 branches in three years, deposits have increased from ksh. 800 billion on to ksh. 1. 01 trillion and accounts from 2. 4m to 8. 4m in the same period. the rt. hon. prime minister, as we commence deliberations at this important summit, it is

of price stability. maintaining the value of the currency preserves the purchasing power of the currency, and therefore that of french citizens. in addition, parliament has sought to create the conditions for growth and for job creation, via the stability of the currency. this is also the goal of the monetary policy council. to achieve this goal, we use two means. first, by preserving the value of the currency, we enhance its credibility in france, in europe and in the world and allow our economy to benefit from financing at favourable market interest rates. it is very important for future french growth, for investment and for job creation that we have the lowest medium - and long - term market rates in the european union today and the third lowest interest rates in the world. second, price stability curbs cost increases in our productive sector. in doing so, the competitiveness of our economy — other things being equal — is preserved and enhanced. this is good for future french growth and for job creation. it is important to note that we currently have a dynamic export sector and, according to the latest forecasts for 1996, the third highest current account surplus in the world. one other indicator of competitiveness is encouraging, namely the flow of foreign direct investment into france. it stood at frf 120 billion in 1995. the latest figures for the first nine months of 1996 show inward foreign direct investment totalling frf 74 billion. in all, since the beginning of 1995, a total of frf 194 billion, the equivalent of usd 39 billion, has been invested directly in france, making us the third - ranking industrialized economy in terms of inward foreign direct investment, behind the united states and the united kingdom. thus, when the monetary policy council makes interest - rate decisions, it bears in mind first the objective of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, for and on behalf of all french people, and second, its corollary, namely the creation of monetary, financial and competitive conditions that will allow our economy to achieve its full potential for sound and sustained growth, for job creation and therefore for combating unemployment. central banks cannot “ command ” growth. growth is the fruit of the labour of men and women, of the efficiency of employees, workers and engineers, of the imagination and skill of business leaders, and also, more broadly, of the influence of european and international business conditions. it is stimulated, in the medium and long term, by structural reforms that liberate initiative, strengthen the dynamism