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Nairobi finance inclusion rate linked to banks’ innovation

robert

Robert Tashima, Oxford Business Group Africa regional editor. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA

The ability of banks to tailor products that meet Kenyans’ needs has helped the country to attain one of the highest financial inclusion rates in the developing world.

A new report by global research and consultancy Oxford Business Group (OBG) indicates that Kenya’s financial inclusion rate stands at 75 per cent.

“Kenya’s banking sector benefits from healthy fundamentals, which in turn has ensured steady growth in the lending and assets, and strong performances for listed creditors,” OBG said.

However, the report said 2016 provided the sector with its fair share of challenges to navigate but says the outlook for the country’s lenders is positive.

The country’s banking industry has been grappling with a painful wave of mass retrenchments following the capping of interest rates late last year.

Increased adoption of technology has also been behind the banks’ push to lay off workers to trim their payrolls.

“Sector challenges may have slowed growth temporarily, but the underlying fundamentals for Kenyan banks look strong and stable for the medium term. The country’s banks are fast-growing, responsive, innovative and increasingly well-regulated,” the report stated.

OBG’s managing editor for Africa, Robert Tashima, said while a combination of external pressures had led to a slowdown in a number of Africa’s larger economies, Kenya has managed to sidestep the worst of it.