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Kenya: Technology Can Accelerate Financial Inclusion for PWDs – Study

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3 years ago

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Nairobi — Innovative technology solutions have the potential to address the financial needs of people living with disabilities(PWDs) across the Middle East and Africa, according to the latest white paper from Mastercard.

The study, Bridging the Disability Gap: An Opportunity to Make a Positive Impact, reveals that digital inclusion is the pathway to financial inclusion for persons with disabilities.

As governments adopt and prioritize policies to improve accessibility of services, this paves the way for public and private sector financial institutions, mobile network operators (MNO), fintech providers, and other organizations to develop and apply solutions.

Umar Hashmi, Vice President, Global Product and Engineering, Mastercard, said: “At Mastercard, we are a purpose-driven organization and put into practice our belief in ‘doing well by doing good’. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of who we are, and we bring this to life by deploying products, services, and partnerships that are aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on ‘leaving no-one behind’.”

According to the latest available data, one billion people, or 15 per cent of the world’s population, experience some form of disability, constituting the largest minority group in the world.

A combination of physical constraints in accessing financial institutions and services prevents many persons with disabilities from banking independently.

Depending on the type of disability, this includes being unable to travel to and enter a financial institution, branch, or ATM, not perceiving and understanding what is written on paper or electronic devices, being unable to hear, understand, and communicate with banking service providers, and being unable to access paper or digital content.

A 2019 UN report cites data that show persons with disabilities consider 28 per cent of banks in developed countries, and between 8 and 64 per cent banks in some emerging economies, to be inaccessible.

However, measures are being taken to address this, at the government and corporate levels.

The UAE has enforced a federal law concerning the Rights of People with Disabilities. Emirates NBD bank has imparted Disability Equality Training to over 2,100 of its staff and has also taught them American Sign Language.

The bank’s Disability Friendly Branch project, implemented in 2016, aims to facilitate and ease the banking experience. The three-phase transformation integrates infrastructure, technology, and services to enable and enhance accessibility.