ACTING CAREER

Formal financial services and products have recorded growth since 2006 baseline survey where formal financial services was 26.7percent.Formal access expanded from 82.9percent in 2021.

Financial technology and innovations especially in mobile money and mobile banking accounts to this growth. Effects of COVID-19 pandemic that had adverse impact on households ,livelihoods ,firms, earnings and employment explain reduction of 6.1percent in 2019 to 4.7percent in 2021on access through informal providers.

46.1percent of the population with no education and 41.6percent with primary education depended on their knowledge, in decision making on financial issues ,this was according to survey results. Fin Access Survey indicated that combining a set of demographics like age, sex ,education, livelihoods and residences help in identifying key drivers of exclusion.

The negative 2.9percentage point growth in formal non -prudential could be attributed to a 6.0percentage points declined in NHIF ,pensions ,MFIs ,investments and sacco societies. Digital app loans declined by 6.2 percentage points in 2021. Income disparities ,age and residence may be key drivers of increased exclusion rate in 2019.

Adults with no ID cards increased by 3.3percentage points in 2021 compared to 2019, the increase was driven by 8.7 percentage increase in population aged 18 to 25 years. COVID-19 restrictions and alternative working arrangements especially in government offices explained reason behind low acquisition of identification cards by the group who were turning 18 years during covid periods.p

Employed people and those who owned businesses had the highest record for accessing financial services through formal Prudential channels at 78.2percent and 59.7percent respectively. Those who engaged in agricultural related activities depended on informal channels to access financial services and products.This shows the significance of livelihood on financial inclusion.