Ease access to credit for women

Kenya: A report on financial inclusion in Kenya released Thursday revealed a disturbing picture. According to the FinAccess National Survey 2013 survey conducted by Financial Sector Deepening (FSD), more than a quarter of the 18.5 million eligible Kenyans are excluded from any form of financial services. Another 1.4 million people singularly rely on shylocks and friends for loans.

But even more unsettling is the fact that more women, youth and inhabitants in rural areas continue to suffer untold exclusion by financial institutions.

The sad state of affairs is attributed to lack of collateral, poor education, limited credit history, an inflexible loan application process and high interest rates.

While the report does not necessarily reveal anything new, it does paint a disturbing picture of women and youth – around whom the Government has weaved various policies and allocated funds to kitties to help ease access to funding.

It also shows the state of rural Kenya as neglected by the Government as well as corporate financial institutions. Indeed, the report is a serious indictment on Government’s commitment to bring women and youth into the main fold of financial services as a strategy of economic empowerment and a precondition for development.

It is our considered opinion that no country rises above the level at which it keeps its women and, we daresay, its energetic youth. This being the case, policymakers and corporate Kenya should read the report beyond its depressing findings.

For starters, regulations governing all the kitties earmarked to benefit youth and women should be alive to the challenges that limit their access to credit. This is the easiest way to create employment. 

The performance of Saccos and other informal sources of capital among women, youth and other residents of rural Kenya should also serve to signal financial institutions to the fact that there are significant business opportunities to exploit among this secluded group.