The Search for Inclusion in Kenya’s financial Landscape: the Rift Revealed 

The rapid take up of mobile money transfer services in Kenya has ignited enthusiasm globally about the potential for financial service delivery based on mobile technology. However, Dr. Susan Johnson, senior lecturer in international development at the University of Bath, argues that the adoption of this technology doesn’t speak to the potential for the development of formal sector services, such as voluntary savings. Rather, it suggests a rift between the formal and informal sectors, and is more indicative of the nature of inter-personal transactions between Kenyans.

On April 25, Susan Johnson will discuss the challenges that formal services face in the search for financial inclusion in Kenya at an event hosted by CGAP.

Lunch will be served at this event.

To attend this event, please register by April 23. 

Dr. Susan Johnson is a Senior Lecturer in International Development at the University of Bath. She has a background in economics and agricultural economics and worked in development organizations for eight years before joining academia. She has undertaken research into microfinance and financial access, particularly focused on its gender dimensions, the role of informal financial services and the impact of interventions on poverty.  She has worked on a number of major impact assessment studies for DFID and the Ford Foundation, and undertaken research on the development of decentralized financial systems with the Financial Sector Deepening Trust in Kenya.