By JAMES NGUNJIRIMore by this AuthorKenya has been ranked the top country for the third consecutive year in a survey on financial and digital inclusion by a US-based public institution, helped by the wide adoption of mobile money in the local economy. Brookings Institution’s Centre for Technology Innovation, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC, in its latest report positioned Kenya at the top of its Financial and Digital Inclusion Program (FDIP) scorecard in a survey of 26 countries across the world. “In addition to Kenya, the other top-scoring countries were distributed across Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa: Brazil and Mexico tied for second place, and Colombia, South Africa, and Uganda tied for third.”Another factor was an enabling regulatory environment for digital financial services. According to Brookings report, 75 per cent of adult Kenyans have a financial account, with 71 per cent of women owning financial accounts. ALSO READ: The rise of digital banking deepens financial inclusionKenya has achieved a 50 per cent increase in financial inclusion within the last 10 years, according to a 2016 FinAcess Household Survey.

Source: Daily Nation September 11, 2017 18:45 UTC