consistently said that the dynamism of the kenyan economy is largely driven by micro, small and medium enterprises, or msmes, and thus this survey contained some related questions. it also contained questions about agricultural finance modules that provide data for better understanding the usage of financial products and services within these specific aspects. so what jumped out at me in this survey? first, some interesting numbers. kenya ’ s financial access has risen to 82. 9 percent in 2018, up from 75. 3 percent in 2016, and as low as 26. 7 percent in 2006. this is a remarkable jump in just over a decade, and this number is despite the age, education, gender, residence, and income gaps. what is equally interesting – and bear with me for drilling down into the statistics – is that only 11 percent of kenya's adult population is completely excluded from any form of financial services, products or institutions. this number was as high as 41. 3 percent as recently as 2006. the most traditionally marginalised regions of the country also recorded the highest declines of excluded adults. the north eastern region recorded a decline of 47. 2 percentage points, the upper eastern region a decline of 24. 6 percentage points, and the coast region a decline of 18. 6 percentage points. this is something to celebrate. here is another statistic. the number of kenyans using more than one type of financial service and product, and this is both formal and informal, increased to 73. 7 percent in 2019, compared to 18. 8 percent in 2006. digital finance is also showing strong growth. in just the years between the 2016 survey and this one, the uptake of loans through digital apps grew from 0. 6 percent to 8. 3 percent. what will come as no surprise to any kenyan in this room is the place of friends and family. kenyans still rely a great deal on these groups to tide them over day to day, and a third of kenyan households say that this is the primary way they get by. the number jumps when they are asked about how they deal with a financial shock, with just about half, or 50. 1 percent, saying that friends and family are the key. social capital remains crucial. what are the flies in the ointment? it's not all good news, and some concerns remain. some questions we are asking ourselves out of the survey findings include the following : why are kenyans increasingly tapping the digital apps loans? do they care about pricing of

education statistics website at https : / / nces. ed. gov / programs / digest / 2014menu _ tables. asp. see table 11 in board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2014 ), report on the economic wellbeing of u. s. households in 2013 ( pdf ) ( washington : board of governors, july ). see stephanie riegg cellini and latika chaudhary ( 2012 ), “ the labor market returns to a for - profit college education, ” nber working paper series 18343 ( cambridge, mass. : national bureau of economic research, august ) ; david j. deming, claudia goldin, and lawrence f. katz ( 2012 ), “ the for - profit postsecondary school sector : nimble critters or agile predators? ” journal of economic perspectives, vol. 26 ( winter ), pp. 139 – 64 ; and kevin lang and russell weinstein ( 2012 ), “ evaluating student outcomes at for - profit colleges, ” nber working paper series 18201 ( cambridge, mass. : national bureau of economic research, june ). see riegg cellini and chaudhary, “ the labor market returns ” ; deming, goldin, and katz, “ the for - profit postsecondary school sector ” ; and lang and weinstein, “ evaluating student outcomes, ” all in note16. see lang and weinstein, “ evaluating student outcomes, ” in note 16. 11 u. s. code § 523 ( a ) ( 8 ) prevents education debt from being discharged in bankruptcy unless the debtor proves that paying the debt would “ impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor ’ s dependents. ” for the complete 11 u. s. code § 523 ( a ) ( 8 ), see the u. s. government publishing office website at www. gpo. gov / fdsys / granule / uscode - 2011 - title11 / uscode - 2011 - title11 - chap5 - subchapii - sec523. the great recession also affected the way students borrowed to pay for college as private lenders tightened underwriting standards. private lenders originated more than $ 20 billion in student loans during the 2007 – 08 academic year. however, that figure fell to about $ 9. 4 billion in the following year and reached just $ 5. 6 billion bis central bankers ’