Visiting World Bank President Dr Jim Yong Kim got a firsthand experience of the globally acclaimed agency banking model. A visibly impressed Dr Kim made a stopover at Francy Enterprises Equity Bank agent store at the Strathmore University Student Centre for a quick brief on the fast-growing alternative banking channel geared at providing convenient banking solutions.
During his tour of the Strathmore University Innovation Lab and the Climate Innovation Center, which supports entrepreneurs working on clean technology, Dr Jim Yong Kim President who was accompanied by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, witnessed the opening of a virtual Equity Hapo Hapo account by Strathmore University student Ian Munyoki. From this account, Munyoki, made a cash deposit into his account through and conducting a mobile money transfer transaction.
The World Bank Group is helping scale up business and climate-start innovations in Kenya by providing knowledge and financial support. By providing a variety of alternative banking channels including mobile phone based solutions, Dr Mwangi said Equity Bank is living up to its corporate mission geared at deepening financial inclusion in East Africa by banking the unbanked.
In Kenya, Dr. Mwangi noted that majority of bankable Kenyans are still unbanked or poorly banked. “This state of affairs, presents us with an opportunity to bridge the obvious gap to foster financial inclusivity for the millions of unbanked Kenyans,” Dr Mwangi explained. “Banking the unbanked remains a key national development agenda given that financial inclusion encourages savings and allows asset accumulation even by the poor,” he added.
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