central bank of kenya launch of the persons with disability digital accessibility report remarks by dr. patrick njoroge governor, central bank of kenya wednesday, december 2, 2020 as prepared for delivery good morning, good afternoon, good evening! i am delighted to join you today for the launch of the persons with disability digital access report. let me express my appreciation to the kenya bankers association ( kba ) for the invite. the timing of this event is indeed apt coming on the eve of the international day of disabled persons which aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well - being of persons with disabilities. according to the world bank1, 15 percent of the world population experience some form of disability with high prevalence in the developing countries. in kenya, as per the 2019 census statistics, 2. 2 percent of kenyans are living with some form of disability. of this population, only 0. 5 percent are included within the financial system. 2 this is a significant level of financial exclusion that needs to be urgently addressed. on a broader front, the united nations ( un ) 2030 agenda for sustainable development that seeks to ensure shared prosperity for all global citizens is disability inclusive. the agenda that will be realized through the sustainable development goals ( sdgs ) aspires that the disabled will not be left behind in shared prosperity. in particular, the sdgs call for nations to work towards including the disabled in education, employment and more broadly ensuring their social, economic and political inclusion. https : / / www. worldbank. org / en / topic / disability who world report on disability ( 2011 ) http : / / www. handicap - international. org / uploads / media / goodpractices - gb2coul. pdf turning to the kenyan banking sector, the central bank of kenya ( cbk ) has set a vision of a banking sector that works for and with kenyans. the vision is operationalized through the kenya banking sector charter issued in february 2019. the charter is anchored on four pillars : customer centricity, risk based pricing, transparency, and ethical banking. while all the four pillars strive towards all kenyans being included in the banking sector, two of them are particularly pertinent for our discussions today — in our view they encompass the expectations with regard to the inclusion in the banking sector of persons with disabilities. the first is customer centricity. banks should ensure that their products and services are tailored to the

that the risk of financial instability increases when access to financial services is expanded. since 2011, 700 million adults have gained more access to an account at a financial institution or through a mobile device, according to the 2014 global findex report. while this 20 % improvement in access in 3 years represents significant progress, there are still 2 billion unbanked adults – primarily among women, those living in the developing world, and the poorest 40 % of households. directly, if more people use bank deposits, banks could have a more solid funding base especially in periods of stress : a 10 % increase in access to deposits can reduce the likelihood of withdrawal rate of deposits during periods of stress by 20 % or more. bis central bankers ’ speeches the current business models of mainstream financial institutions are generally not geared to offering the kind of small - scale savings, payments, lending and insurance services that are tailored for these excluded households and still profitable for providers. but this is beginning to change at a rapid pace, driven by digital and other technological innovations. individuals in the most remote and poorest regions of the world are becoming increasingly connected thanks to basic mobile phones. and it won ’ t be long before smartphones become available to larger numbers of people, even those of very low income, bringing with them the power of the internet along with other capabilities hard to imagine even just a few years ago. these and other digital technologies are being used more and more to deliver financial services to people who have been excluded. for example, in many african countries the percentage of adults who have a mobile money account is already very significant : 58 % in kenya, 32 % in tanzania, and 35 % in uganda 2. these impressive numbers don ’ t tell the whole story. mobile money helps local economies and spurs economic growth, for example by allowing for faster, cheaper and safer domestic remittances, which are an important economic contribution to rapidly urbanizing developing countries. the digitization of retail financial services also enables a broader range of services to be delivered at far lower cost. mobile payment histories can be used for data - driven credit underwriting for self - employed entrepreneurs, small businesses or individuals who lack traditional collateral. and low - cost, mobile retail payment systems can also enable smallticket crop insurance or the micro - leasing of, say, residential off - grid solar energy units. these would not be economically viable with the traditional transaction cost structure of a cash - based business model. these developments and other nascent technologically based but