Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

The three researchers—Dr. Jane Mutinda (Kenyatta University, Kenya), Dr. Ndunge Kiiti (Houghton College, New York), and Professor Charles Nzioka (University of Nairobi, Kenya)—set out to discover the uses and impact of M-Shwari as a financial inclusion banking product in urban and rural areas of Kenya. We visited eight counties in four regions of Kenya—Western (Kisumu & Bondo); Coastal (Mombasa Town & Kaloleni); Nairobi (Westlands and Eastlands); and Eastern (Machakos & Embu). In each region, the first location listed represents the ‘urban’-based focus and the second represents the more ‘rural.’ The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) were our hosts in each of the counties. With an introductory letter in hand from the Director of MSEA Headquarters in Nairobi, county-level coordinator facilitated our access to the SME owners, and were each interviewed for the research as well.