83 percent in 2019. these transformational financial inclusion stories riding on digitalization were replicated across the continent including in uganda, tanzania, rwanda and ghana. undoubtedly, digitalization has been the silver lining during this pandemic. with various containment measures including social distancing, lockdowns, and stay - at - home protocols, digitalization has enabled access to not just financial services but also other essential services including health and education. e - commerce has exploded as businesses pivoted to the digital marketplace. businesses in diverse sectors ranging from hotels, retail, transport, communications, entertainment, health to education, have to a large extent transformed their businesses riding on digital rails and platforms. workplaces have changed with a shift to working - from - home on a scale that was unimaginable before the pandemic. additionally, technologies and innovations are being adopted rapidly. 2 new ideas and products are spreading at an exponential pace, putting pressure on innovators and promoters to compromise on the quality of their products. third, is the rise of sustainability concerns. it is now widely appreciated that businesses can only be as successful as the societies they operate in and draw their existence from. environmental, social and governance ( esg ) considerations are now paramount in any organization ’ s strategy and operations. most notably, the adverse impact of climate change has become evident. natural disasters, associated previously with developing countries, have spectacularly reared their ugly heads in the developed countries. in the last few weeks, once - ina - millennium floods have ravaged europe, while heatwaves and bushfires have scorched the western parts of the u. s. in these circumstances, the urgency to meet targets to reduce greenhouse emissions under the paris climate agreement has been amplified. significant financing will be required as the world moves to mitigate and adopt to climate change. will banks rise to this challenge? the consequences of failure are dire to society and banks specifically as they reel from the damage to their loan portfolios from extreme weather events. further, banks may be left with stranded assets, if they do not keep abreast with the transition to a net zero emissions global economy. against the backdrop of the significant transformation foreshadowed by the three themes highlighted above, how will bankers bend without breaking in this environment? how will they guide their institutions to thrive and not just survive? i want to draw on an analogy from football, appropriately so in the wake of the recently concluded euro 2020 tournament. for the first

njuguna ndung ’ u : review of forex bureau guidelines remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the workshop on the review of forex bureau guidelines, kenya school of monetary studies, nairobi, 24 february 2011. * * * the directors and principal officers of forex bureaus ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : 1. it gives me great pleasure to be here today to officially open this consultative workshop that will comprehensively review the forex bureau guidelines. at the outset, i would like to take this early opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all forex bureaus represented here and to those that took time to study the proposals made and submitted comments on the guidelines. this has allowed the central bank of kenya team to revise them considerably. 2. ladies and gentlemen, forex bureaus were first licensed in january 1995 to foster competition in the foreign exchange market and to narrow the exchange rate spread through this micro - structure of the market. as you are aware, the forex bureau sub sector has experienced rapid growth since it was first established with the number of operating bureaus having increased from 48 in 1998 to 126 as at december 2010. this rapid growth has to do with units in the market and also the volume of their trading. but this has also come with challenges. while the initial objectives have largely been met, it has become necessary to take stock of achievements and challenges so far. 3. ladies and gentlemen : in the last few years, the central bank has carried out comprehensive on - site and off - site review of the operations of forex bureaus. the review exercises have revealed major weaknesses in the operations of some of the bureaus that include ; engaging in unauthorized business activities ; non - compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements such as the central bank of kenya act and the laws that govern taxation ; and limited understanding of regulations and weak capacity in management of the bureaus. it is in light of this that central bank embarked on the process of identifying gaps in the regulatory framework and reviewing the guidelines in order to streamline the sub - sector, facilitate growth and ensure that all the players operate in accordance with the law. 4. the revised guidelines also seek to deal with the various challenges ; strengthen the corporate governance structure and financial position of the bureaus ; enhance competition in the foreign exchange market and more importantly re - define the basic tenets of this market. from the comments and discussions we have