Telkom Kenya will develop a youth-focused digital wallet to relieve them from financial exclusion during the pandemic.
The telco has signed an agreement with the Ministry of ICT to co-create ‘Fursa’.
This is a platform that allows the council to disburse funds to youth conveniently, faster, securely and timely.
This solution will increase the youth’s resilience in the midst of physical and infrastructural barriers that obstruct their access to financial services and products.
The Financial Sector Deepening estimates that 23 per cent of the 18-25 year-olds are excluded from financial services and products and that financial services providers have no solutions targeted at youth.
Fursa will be customised to contain additional capabilities: a membership management system, financial reconciliation, savings and investments, an experienced board for job matching and e-learning as well as experiential skill development.
Chief Executive Officer, Mugo Kibati said the collaboration is the first of many such Digital Financial Services partnerships.
“More can be done to advance the financial inclusion of our youth. Further digitisation and investment in the mobile money ecosystem will help solve a crisis that has been further exacerbated during the pandemic. The Fursa e-wallet helps to address this challenge,” he said.
NYCK’s Chief Executive, Roy Sasaka said the e-wallet will open up a portfolio of financial opportunities to the youth in Kenya and more so at the grassroots levels.
“Far from development of joint programmes and incentivizing youth to take up technology and youth entrepreneurship, employment and engagement programs, Fursa is a huge opportunity to support the government’s nationwide efforts to provide a financial and safety net in the unraveling pandemic,”he said.
Under the partnership, Telkom will install the Fursa wallet and offer support with respect to its operationalisation, maintenance and updates.
It will also provide professional and product support services, including infrastructure, care services, monitoring, performance and availability.
Last year, The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) directed all banks and telcos to actively encourage the use of mobile payments.
