1st annual genafrica asset managers limited conference leisure lodge, diani navigating through turbulent times remarks by dr. patrick njoroge governor, central bank of kenya december 2, 2016 as prepared for delivery good morning! i am indeed honored to speak before this distinguished forum. i would like to express my thanks to the organizing committee of this conference for the invitation to participate in this session, and to deliver the keynote address. let me also acknowledge the important role of the genafrica asset managers limited in the economy particularly with respect to pension fund management and property investment advisory. although your investment philosophy is to achieve investment returns without exposing clients ’ assets to unnecessary risk, we have seen heightened uncertainties in the domestic and global economies which require closer monitoring. the theme of this conference – navigating through turbulent times – resonates with the challenges that most emerging and developing economies are going through as they seek to deliver on their mandates of ensuring macroeconomic stability and promoting growth. these economies, kenya included, have become more integrated with the global economy, and are therefore exposed to external shocks largely through the linkages in the financial markets, foreign direct investment flows, as well as commodity prices. growth in sub - saharan african ( ssa ) region has been held back in 2016 by the weak global economy, the decline in commodity prices, and uncertainty in the financial markets. in particular, ssa growth is projected to decelerate to 1. 4 percent in 2016 from 3. 4 percent in 2015, and from an average of 5. 3 percent in the period 2010 – 2014. this is the slowest growth for the region in twenty years. the outlook for the global economy is confounded by uncertainties around the impact of brexit and political developments in the u. s. given these risks, and in line with the theme of this forum, i would like to provide some highlights on the outlook for kenya ’ s economy, and to outline some of the measures we are implementing to mitigate the risks. kenya ’ s economy has remained strong, growing at an average of 5. 6 percent during the period 2011 - 2015, which was higher than the ssa average growth of 4. 3 percent. the growth averaged 6. 1 percent in the first half of 2016 and is projected at 6. 0 percent in 2016, up from 5. 6 percent in 2015. this outlook is underpinned by continued public and private sector investment, strong agriculture performance, increased private consumption, and

patrick njoroge : launch of the banking industry sign language self - training mobile application remarks by dr patrick njoroge, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of the banking industry sign language self - training mobile application, organized by the kenya bankers association ( kba ), 2 december 2021. * * * good morning! i am pleased to be part of the launch of the deaf elimu banking application ( app ). my gratitude goes to the kenya bankers association ( kba ) for putting together this event and for the invitation to participate. i also extend my appreciation to the financial sector deepening ( fsd ) kenya and deaf elimu plus limited for their partnership with kba on this project. the choice of date for this launch is apt, being a day before the world commemorates the international day of persons with disabilities. i note with appreciation that my sentiments one year ago, during the launch of the persons with disability digital access report, were duly considered and executed. i challenged the participants to provide tailor - made financial products that meet the needs of persons with disabilities. i am informed that 31 commercial banks have submitted their roadmaps on how they intend to implement the recommendations made in the report. it is therefore exciting to be here today to launch an app that is going to revolutionize banking for the hearing impaired. the world health organization ( w ho ) estimates that 5 percent of the world ’ s population ( 430 million people ) are living with “ disabling ” hearing loss. this number is envisaged to grow to over 700 million people ( one in every ten people ) by 2050. of this population, about 80 percent are people living in developing countries. in kenya, of the 900, 000 ( 2. 2 percent ) persons with disabilities, 150, 000 people ( 16 percent ) are living with hearing loss. this is a significant population, who are likely to be sidelined due to the non - inclusivity of our systems. in kenya, we pride ourselves in achieving 82. 9 percent financial inclusion. however, only 0. 5 percent of persons with disabilities are part of these statistics. this brings me to the barriers locking out persons living with disabilities from the financial system. it is interesting to note that these barriers are rudimentary. they include negative attitude, misunderstandings by both financial institutions as well as their clients living with disabilities, unfavorable infrastructure such as lack of ramps and having to endure long queues. it is