NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Daily Nation

Mobile money has had the biggest impact on closing the gender gap in access to financial services in Kenya, deputy central bank governor Sheila M’Mbijiwe has said.

Ownership of the mobile phone and the access it provides to financial services have left women nearly at par with men, Ms M’Mbijiwe said, citing statistics indicating that mobile money coverage among women stands at 71 per cent compared to 79 per cent for men.

This is eight percentage points shy of male coverage, making mobile money an exception because women normally lag behind men in most segments of the economy, including ownership of bank accounts, by a greater margin.

Photo courtesy of Gunnar Salvarsson.