njuguna ndung ’ u : promoting private sector credit and mortgage finance in kenya keynote address by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of metropol consumer and sme bureau scores, nairobi, 24 july 2014. * * * mr. peter kebati, chairman, board of directors, metropol credit reference bureau ; mr. sam omukoko, managing director, metropol credit reference bureau ; board members ; representatives of commercial banks, microfinance banks and other financial institutions ; distinguished ladies and gentlemen : it is a great honour for me to join you this morning to witness the roll - out of another innovative financial product, metropol ’ s consumer and sme bureau scores. at the outset, i wish to express my gratitude to the directors and management of metropol credit reference bureau ( crb ) for inviting me to this auspicious occasion. ladies and gentlemen : the roll - out of full file banking sector credit information sharing effective february 2014 is already yielding positive results. we are gathered here today for the inauguration of consumer and sme bureau scores, which has been made possible by the expanded credit information sharing ( cis ) mechanism. i take this opportunity to congratulate metropol crb for quickly seizing the opportunity to develop a customer ’ s scoring mechanism, that will contribute to the growth of the credit market in kenya. introduction of credit scoring by metropol crb will not only enrich the value of its credit reports to the lenders but will greatly improve the lenders credit risk management. ladies and gentlemen : when the cis mechanism was launched in 2010, the viability of the licensed crbs hinged primarily on the volume of credit reports accessed by the lenders. however, with the introduction of full file credit information sharing, crbs are now well positioned to introduce value add products such as credit scoring that will not only propel their success but will contribute to the development of the financial sector ; especially the dynamic and changing profile of collateral technology and pricing credit in our financial market. as you are aware, a high level committee was established under the leadership of the cabinet secretary to the national treasury in january 2014 to explore ways of increasing private sector credit and mortgage finance in kenya. the formation of the committee that comprised of representatives from the national treasury, central bank of kenya, kenya bankers association and other private sector representatives and market players, was informed by the government ’ s desire pursuant to vision 203

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