Kenya

When YouthSave began, Kenya’s banking sector was comprised of 43 commercial financial institutions, along with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs). Efforts to increase financial inclusion through the Microfinance Act of 2006, which regulated deposit-taking MFIs and government support for mobile banking, contributed to 40.5 percent of the adult population in Kenya gaining access to "formal" financial services. Youth, however, continued to have limited access to savings products due to age restrictions on operating a bank account without parental consent and lack of national identity cards. In 2010, only 13 percent of youth had access to formal saving products. The YouthSave consortium determined that given the socio-economic disparities that disproportionately affected youth and increased the vulnerability of those in chronic poverty in Kenya—including unemployment, being orphaned due to AIDS and living or working on the street—opportunities for youth savings were needed.

See the Kenya Country Assessment for Youth Development Accounts from the Center for Social Development here.

Financial Partner: Kenya Post Office Savings Bank (Postbank)

Established in 1910 as a department within the East African Common Services, Postbank’s mission is to extend financial services to the entirety of the population regardless of geography or income level. With over 1.2 million account holders and 92 full-service online branches at the time of partnership with YouthSave, Postbank commanded one of the largest outreach networks of any pro-poor financial institution in Kenya. In addition, through an Agency partnership agreement, Postbank clients could deposit or withdraw cash, open new accounts, and receive pension payments at over 350 post offices throughout the country. To supplement its network, Postbank customers also had access to a network of over 688 ATMs distributed across the country. Further, in an effort to deepen its reach to unbanked and under-banked Kenyans, Postbank had implemented an ambitious plan to roll out a network of 1000 bank agents, including fuel/gas stations, mobile phone money service outlets, pharmacies, wholesalers/distributors, retail shops and courier companies amongst others. To learn more about Postbank today visit: www.postbank.co.ke.

Research Partner: Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)

Established in 1999, KIPPRA is a semi-autonomous public think tank under the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030. At partnership, KIPPRA had conducted studies on productive sector competitiveness and productivity, financial and banking sector policies, poverty, health and education, environmental policy, infrastructure and economic services, business environment for private sector development, regional and international trade policy, investment and economic growth, and other macroeconomic issues. The Institute had also recently started research on governance and foreign policy issues. Its primary mission is was to provide quality public policy advice to the government of Kenya and to the private sector in order to contribute to achievement of national development goals. In line with this mission, KIPPRA played a major role in the development of Economic Recovery Strategy (2003-2007) and the Kenya Vision 2030, and it sat in many policy working groups or task forces through appointment by the Government of Kenya. Additionally, KIPPRA offered experience in both large-scale data collection and advanced analytical techniques. To learn more about KIPPRA today visit: www.kippra.org.