Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

With support from the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), Vinya wa Aka Group (VwAG), a women’s group from the Eastern part of Kenya, has trained 21 women’s groups, in seven rural districts of the Province, on issues related to investment, savings, money services and management. As part of that training, each group outlined a strategy for resource mobilization, savings and investment with the aim of reducing poverty within their families and communities. To build on the initial VwAG training, the primary goal of this research study was to investigate the use and impact of mobile money services (e.g. M-PESA, YU and Zap), among the 21 women’s groups, as a tool for poverty reduction in Eastern Kenya. The methodology included in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, participatory observations, review of secondary data and a dissemination workshop, which will be the focus of this working paper.