or windows. other conventional banks have also expressed interest in providing sharia compliant products to an increasing customer base. ladies and gentlemen : among the challenges facing kenya ’ s ambition to be a hub of sharia compliant investment products to compliment the islamic banking in the country are lack of ; shariah compliant investment vehicles, an enabling legal and regulatory framework and awareness by majority of the populace that hinder the uptake of these investments. for the country to fully embrace islamic finance, there is need to extend beyond the offering of sharia compliant products by introducing such investment vehicles like unit trusts, corporate bonds ( sukuks ) and insurance ( takaful ) products and sharia compliant treasury bills and bonds ( government sukuk ). bis central bankers ’ speeches it is encouraging to note the ongoing efforts by the government and other players especially the capital markets authority and insurance regulatory authority to come up with a range of shariah compliant financial products. already there are positive signals of these efforts with the introduction of shariah compliant investments and insurance products. it is in this spirit that the kenyan government through the finance act 2010, amended section 45 of the central bank of kenya act, to allow the central bank as the government ’ s fiscal agent to recognize the payment of a “ return ” rather than “ interest ” on government securities. this amendment opens up the spectrum of sharia compliant investments in the country. ladies and gentlemen : the future of islamic finance in kenya and in the region remains bright. on its part, the government of kenya will continue to pursue policies that create an enabling environment that will eventually culminate in kenya establishing itself as a regional financial hub as envisaged in vision 2030. in addition, the central bank will continue to partner with the sector to promote financial inclusion by supporting innovation in the sharia compliant banking sector. with these few remarks, let me wish all participants to this conference, fruitful deliberations over the next two days and declare the 3rd gulf african bank annual east and central african islamic conference officially opened. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

from 2. 5 million to over 14 million in just over 5 years, while mobile money transfer services have led to over 15 million kenyans being integrated into the financial system. the regulated microfinance industry has also grown tremendously with the licensing of six deposit taking microfinance institutions with 57 branches, 1. 5 million deposit accounts valued at ksh. 9 billion and 0. 53 million loan accounts with an outstanding loan portfolio of ksh. 15 billion. despite these remarkable developments in the kenyan financial sector, we are cognisant of the fact that there still remains great need within the kenyan market for appropriate and more affordable financial services. given that this situation is not unique to kenya, but applies to most, if not all, african nations represented in this forum, it is imperative that improving access to financial services remains key in our development agenda. we need to solve costs, barriers to entry, physical distance and market concentration problems. ladies and gentlemen, as we undertake to enhance access to financial services as regulators and policy makers, we must ensure that financial services are provided a bis central bankers ’ speeches competitive market environment. let us learn from developments in the microfinance sectors in parts of bosnia and india, that recently experienced crises. the challenges in these countries were instigated by issues such as multiple lending and client over - indebtedness, aggressive competition, erosion of credit quality standards, a lack of transparency in pricing, a weak credit information sharing framework and inadequate regulation. beyond these challenges, currently the broader issue of transparent and responsible pricing is becoming a concern for the global microfinance industry. price is an incentive. transparent and responsible pricing is essential for stimulating growth, efficiency and effectiveness of the financial sector. it is indeed a key ingredient for incentivising innovation, enhancing informed decision - making by consumers and fostering the development of healthy, vibrant and competitive markets. transparency in pricing is critical because consumers have the right to know the exact price of products in the market. conversely, nontransparent ( or opaque ) pricing, prevents consumers from making informed decisions about borrowing. this ultimately reduces the ability of financial institutions to compete effectively, free market forces to operate properly and the financial sector to develop efficiently and sustainably. policies to entrench relevant consumer protection measures, including transparency and truth - in - lending regulations combined with the promotion of competition and efficiency among credit providers, can go a long way toward expanding the reach of sustainable finance, particularly credit, while safeguard