A family dwelling or home with household members who pool and use resources together. Can include husband, wife, and children and in some case, even an extended family including aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews.
Published in Chapter:
Is M-PESA a Model for Financial Inclusion and Women Empowerment in Kenya?
Violet N. Barasa (International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya) and Charles Lugo (University of East Anglia, UK)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 23
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8611-3.ch006
Abstract
Since the 1980s, the gender gap in most countries—rich and developing—has been narrowing. Women and girls are going to school more, living longer, getting better jobs, and acquiring legal rights and protections. Despite these strides, women in poor rural communities remain financially excluded from formal financial services. This chapter explores the impact of mobile banking on financial inclusion and women's empowerment in Kenya. The aim is to evaluate whether mobile banking is a form of financial inclusion and women's financial empowerment in Kenya. Firstly, it gives a clear background of a form of mobile banking in Kenya locally called M-PESA. Secondly, it evaluates how M-PESA is a form financial inclusion. Thirdly, it examines if M-PESA is a form of financial empowerment for women and girls in Kenya and lastly, offers recommendations on how M-PESA can effectively become a mode of financial inclusion and women's empowerment in Kenya.