Question one Paraphrase the below writing The Role of Agency…

Question Answered step-by-step Question one Paraphrase the below writing The Role of Agency… Question oneParaphrase the below writing   The Role of Agency Banking in Improving Financial Access in Kenya: Case Study of Dagoreti North ConstituencyAccording to the World Bank (2010), many Sub-Saharan African countries still face a severe financial development gap relative to not only the advanced economies but other peer developing economies. This fact continues to be seen despite the fact that there have been extensive economic and financial sector reforms over the last few decades. A key obstacle to financial development is the lack of financial access among the financially disadvantaged. Financial access would certainly promote economic growth at the broadest scale. Kenya is a developing country with a total population of 43 million people and has a slightly lower than average income inequality amongst developing countries (Adera, 1995). A report by the Microcredit Summit (2000) asserts that facilitating financial access is a major drive behind the strengthening of the financial sector. Kenya, as well as a number of other African countries take part in a series of financial access surveys. Worldwide, financial access has become an increasingly important development metric as one of the major factors that can drive widespread economic development. The stark reality is that most poor people in the world still lack access to sustainable financial services, whether it is savings, credit or insurance. The great challenge before us is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector. Together, we can and must build inclusive financial sectors that help people improve their lives (Atieno, 2001). In the past in Africa, poor people experienced problems when attempting to gain access to financial services. This was because banks were not near their localities and they were thus forced to travel significant distances in search of a bank. What this meant for those in informal settlements, was that they would have to spend a large part of their day traveling to then stand in long queues to access financial services. Transportation costs also had to be taken into account; more often than not, the whole endeavor would prove extremely time-consuming and costly. However, there have been significant improvements in the banking sector with the introduction of agent banking, an innovative delivery channel that seeks to bring access to financial services much closer to poor people (Making Finance Work,2013). At present, a group of major banks are using branch-less banking channels to deliver services and reach new clients through retail outlets. Admittedly, the development of any branch-less banking scheme takes quite a lot of time and preparation as it implies analyzing and taking action regarding the business case of each of the parties involved, the customer value proposition and the local legal and regulatory environment. The true power of branch-less banking cannot be unleashed until some trusted third party is involved in performing some of the activities that are traditionally performed in bank branches by the bank staff. Many branch-less banking clients agree that technology?based financial services can provide cost savings on various products and services (Making Finance Work,2013). According to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (2011) survey on financial access in developing countries by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) in April 2010, the challenge of financial exclusion of the majority of the population, especially in developing countries has been raised in different forums all around the world. Fortunately, various possible solutions have been discussed including the adoption of the agency banking model. When agency banking was adopted in Kenya in 2010, members of the society such as laborers, slum dwellers, people in rural areas and those considered to be marginalized and disadvantaged quickly rose up to takeThe lack of financial access denies individuals, groups and communities a chance to partake in financially led development and progress (Kodan, Garg,&Kaidan, 2011). This study sought to fill this research gap by investigating the role of agency banking on financial access in Kenya.  Objective of the Study i. To examine the role of agency banking in ensuring financial access in Dagoreti North Constituency. ii. To find out the level of utilization of the agency banking in Dagoreti North Constituency. iii. To establish the challenges faced by agency banking units in Dagoreti North Constituency.  Arts & Humanities Writing EDUCATION 615 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)