The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has signed a collaboration agreement with Huawei Kenya that seeks to deepen financial inclusion in the banking sector through further deployment of technology and building fintech capacity.
In the partnership, KBA will work closely with Huawei Kenya to spearhead industrywide capacity-building initiatives aimed at promoting knowledge on financial technology innovation, digital transformation, and other ICT-related programmes in the banking industry.
Under the partnership, KBA and Huawei will also aim to promote financial inclusion activities in line with the KBA Strategic Plan for the period 2020 to 2023. Launched last year, the plan seeks to promote access to affordable financial services through tech-aided operational efficiency.
The partnership comes just before the 2020 edition of the Huawei-KBA Online FSI Summit taking place on the 30th of September, the theme of which is Building Banking Core Competence through Digital Transformation to Accelerate Inclusive Finance.
KBA chief executive officer Dr Habil Olaka noted that the banking industry has continued to tap into the potential of technology to uphold business continuity and support customers, a culmination of efficient deployment of technology by the banking sector during a period when the world has had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. “Beyond the Covid-19 disruption, we see technology as an invaluable enabler of financial inclusion,’’ Dr Olaka said.
For the moment, specific details about the practical outcomes the partnership will enable were not offered. However, there has been no shortage of initiatives aimed at deepening financial inclusion in recent years in a country that is a byword for financial innovation. Could this agreement accelerate the process?
