Kenya has been ranked number one in inclusive financial services by the Brookings Institution’s 2016 Financial and Digital Inclusion Project with an overall score of 84 percent.
Kenya witnessed a 50 percent increase in financial inclusion over the last decade attributed to the country’s vibrant mobile money ecosystem, which features exceptionally high adoption rates.
The report evaluates access to and usage of affordable financial services by underserved people across 26 geographically, politically, and economically diverse countries based on four dimensions of financial inclusion: country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment, and adoption of selected traditional and digital financial services.
In the report, Kenya retained its position as the highest-ranked country in the study by a 5 percentage point margin ahead of Colombia (earning 79 percent of the total possible score), and South Africa, Brazil, and Uganda (tied at 78 percent each).
Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, and Uganda held their places in the top five-ranked countries between 2015 and 2016, while Colombia moved up five percentage points and therefore joined the top performers.
Rwanda was ranked among the top 10 countries overall.
“Rwanda provides an effective example of how country commitment to advancing financial inclusion and the promotion of digital financial services can lead to a more inclusive financial ecosystem,” part of the report states.