The African Confederation of Co-operative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA) and Visa have joined forces to boost financial inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania. Their collaborative project, dubbed Financial Inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania (FIKT), aims to augment financial accessibility across these two East African nations.
The FIKT initiative will capitalize on Visa’s existing network and the considerable influence the Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) has garnered across Africa.
The plan is for FIKT to deliver innovative and affordable financial products and services to the chosen demographics. Along with this, the participants within cooperative societies will also benefit from an increased capacity. FIKT aims to foster a balanced policy and regulatory environment, stimulating broader financial inclusion.
As part of the project’s groundwork, ACCOSCA and Visa surveyed SACCO members on their financial literacy at the beginning of 2024. The poll aimed to establish the popularity of collective investment and saving schemes, known as chamas, in addition to the penetration level of technology-based saving and investment solutions. The data harvested from this exercise will steer FIKT’s course of action and implementation plans.
Recent reports have shown a steady decrease in the percentage of unbanked individuals in both Kenya and Tanzania, the target nations for the FIKT project. Over the last five years, Tanzania has witnessed a decline in the number of people who lack access to conventional financial services.
Meanwhile, Kenya has seen an uptick in the number of its citizens who own bank accounts from 2014 to date. This trend is anticipated to continue on an upward trajectory.
In light of the project’s launch, George Ombado, the Executive Director of ACCOSCA, reiterated his organization’s pledge to economic growth, entrepreneurship, and investment. According to Ombado, ACCOSCA is committed to promoting these ideals in a way that includes susceptible communities, protecting them from financial vulnerabilities. This aligns with the aim of the FIKT project, which is to bolster financial accessibility and inclusion.
Eva-Ngigi-Sarwari, Visa Kenya Country Manager, underscored that financial education and digital payment adoption are vital to promoting financial inclusion. She highlighted that the FIKT project also plans to increase awareness of formal financial services through campaigns and financial literacy initiatives.
Sarwari elaborated, “A blend of financial education and the uptake of digital payments has the potential to fast-track financial inclusion and economic growth for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya and Tanzania.”
Visa has already made significant strides towards promoting financial inclusion in Kenya. In January 2024, Visa collaborated with Kenya’s payment platform, Pesaflow, to enhance digital payment efficiency and transparency in public and government services. This move aimed to encourage greater financial inclusion.
Moreover, in August 2023, the payment technology giant joined hands with domestic banks and fintech companies in Kenya to launch contactless payments, thereby strengthening its footprint in the East African nation.
