njuguna ndung ’ u : enhancing the quality of financial inclusion in kenya remarks by professor njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of mpesa moneygram partnership, nairobi, 5 november 2014. * * * mr. bob collymore – ceo safaricom ; ms. pam patsley ceo – moneygram international ; mr. herve chomel – vice president moneygram africa ; h. e. robert godec – us ambassador to kenya ; dignitaries ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : i am pleased to join you today on this auspicious launch of safaricom mpesa and moneygram international money transfer partnership. it is a great honour to be here with you this morning. i thank the ceo and management of safaricom for inviting me to this occasion. ladies and gentlemen : i recall with pleasure back in 2009 when i witnessed the first partnership in international money remittance between safaricom and western union. this created a much needed avenue for the safety of remittances and efficiency through easily accessible channels. and today, we are gathered here to celebrate another milestone in the deepening of kenya ’ s financial sector. the partnership between safaricom and moneygram international is not only an opportunity for safaricom to satisfy the needs of its customers but also to contribute in enhancing the quality of financial inclusion. i commend the board, management and staff of safaricom and moneygram international for their decision to operationalise this partnership. this partnership will benefit both parties through expansion of network of outlets. as i continually to encourage and advocate, it is such partnerships that discover market opportunities and allow further competition to enlarge the space. as everyone attending this launch is aware, kenyans have spread their reach worldwide in both business and in practising their professions. kenya being a small open economy, it has liberalised its markets to promote and enhance growth. these professional and business people within and outside kenya send substantial shares of their earnings to family members back home perhaps for consumption smoothing and investment. ladies and gentlemen, the mobile phone financial services sector in kenya has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception in 2007. this sector is served by over 120, 000 agents handling more than 2. 5 million transactions daily valued at ksh. 6. 3 billion. this partnership will expand opportunities for business and increase the global outreach to more than 90 countries and interlink more than 20 million customers in those countries already served by moneygram

patrick njoroge : improving financial services for the kenyan population speech by dr patrick njoroge, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of the finaccess geospatial mapping survey, 2015, nairobi, 29 october 2015. * * * i am delighted to join you today, to launch the key findings of the finaccess geospatial mapping survey, 2015. the survey was conducted by the finaccess management team, comprising of the central bank of kenya ( cbk ), financial sector deepening trust ( fsd ), and the kenya national bureau of statistics ( knbs ), with funding from the bill & melinda gates foundation ( b & mgf ). the fieldwork was conducted by brand fusion limited, a research house contracted by b & mgf. i wish to thank the bill and melinda gates foundation for funding this survey and all those who, in one way or another, participated and made this survey a success. 1. policy goal : one of the goals of kenya ’ s vision 2030 is to foster greater efficiency and delivery of financial services to a wider population. in order to achieve this, all stakeholders and associated financial sector players, both in the private and public sectors, have been working towards increasing financial inclusion through offering appropriate and affordable financial products and services. there is more focus on low - income households and micro -, small -, and medium - sized enterprises, who are, as a whole, benefitting from these positive and significant endeavours. the cbk in collaboration with fsd kenya, knbs, and other key stakeholders has taken a leading role in fostering kenya ’ s financial inclusion agenda. it has also taken the lead in improving the measurement of financial inclusion and tracking its dynamics, thereby identifying evidence - based strategies to promote an inclusive and stable financial system. 2. existing financial inclusion landscape : the promotion of financial inclusion has been an area of focus of the government over the past decade. recent finaccess surveys indicated that kenya has made significant progress in fostering financial inclusion since the first baseline survey in 2006. the three national finaccess household surveys of 2006, 2009 and 2013 and the finaccess geospatial mapping survey, 2013 have clearly demonstrated that kenya ’ s financial inclusion landscape has changed considerably over the period 2006 – 2013. the proportion of adult population using formal financial services rose to 66. 7 percent in 2013, from 27. 4 percent in 2006,