These factors have allowed access to formal financial services to expand from 26 percent in 2006 to over 75 percent currently.1 Similar improvements in financial inclusion have been witnessed in other countries in the region—recently reported numbers are Mauritius at 88 percent, South Africa at 83 percent, Rwanda at 68 percent, Tanzania at 57 percent, and Nigeria at 48 percent, and Democratic Republic of Congo at 36 percent.
Second, compared to similarly-situated countries, Kenya has a relatively small gender gap of about 7 percent.2 Additionally, data from a large integrated banking and payments platform in Kenya indicates that 41 percent of users are women. However, 99 percent of these women users are active users, whereas 59 percent of users are men but only 77 percent of them are active users.