Kenya

M-PESA is a Safaricom service which allows people to transfer money using their mobile phones. The project was piloted in Kenya and developed by Vodafone and its Kenya subsidiary, Safaricom. The service is available to all Safaricom subscribers, regardless of whether they have a bank account or not. Registration is free and available from M-PESA agents across Kenya. The M-PESA application is installed on SIM cards and works on all handsets.

M-PESA has revolutionised money transfer in Kenya and significantly reduced levels of financial exclusion, by making it easier, safer and cheaper to send and receive money. Piloted in 2004, Safaricom has built on the vast network of existing mobile phone services and kiosks, transforming them into M-PESA agencies where money can be deposited and collected in cash form. M-PESA can be used within different services, including money transfer, bill payment, and in the near future will be accepted as payment on some public transport services. The system prompts more regular loan repayment as customers in hard-to-reach areas have easier access to a means of money transfer. The cashless system also provides security for customers who would otherwise be forced to store their money at home and could potentially allow public service employees, such as transport drivers, to avoid being responsible for cash amounts.

After the success of the pilot, the service was permanently implemented, and, after entering into partnership with Citibank, will operate on a worldwide basis. M-PESA money is becoming increasingly available at ATM’s, which demonstrates its success as a recognised banking service. M-PESA now has over 7 million Kenyan subscribers and 11,000 agents countrywide. M-PESA has developed to an established and widely depended on service in Kenya, with 43% of customers using the service once a month, and over 90% of users agreeing that M-PESA is a safe service to use. With 70% of M-PESA users with at least one bank account as opposed to 40% of non-users, the organisation has successfully increased the number of people using banking services, therefore making an important step towards greater financial inclusion.

The Organic Health Response represents a vision cultivated by a group of organic farmers, health workers, and teachers from Mfangano Island and a team of international medical and graduate students. Together we have committed ourselves to addressing the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS among the remote island communities of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. OHR-Mfangano is based out of a special Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing facility called The Ekialo Kiona Center. This solar-powered resource center will encourage residents to know their HIV status by providing access to high-speed information technology as cover and incentive for participation in a unique “post-test club.” At the same time, this center will coordinate an island-wide network of “micro-clinics” to provide nutritional and psycho-social support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Through local and global partnerships, we are pioneering a series of initiatives to empower these rural villages to respond “organically”—as unified communities—to the overwhelming socio-economic, epidemiological, and ecological challenges they face.

We seek to augment health services by taking into consideration local understandings of disease, and integrating the power of biomedical science with the insight of indigenous knowledge. OHR-Mfangano is grounded in the recognition that the health of human beings is fundamentally connected to the strength of their communities and the sustainability of their environments. OHR-Mfangano embraces a philosophy that champions social justice and environmentalism not merely as political ideals but as the key components of a comprehensive strategy to improve and sustain human health.

Most importantly, OHR-Mfangano seeks to move beyond the rhetoric of “development” to put power into the hands of local people. Rather than requiring rural communities to develop according to agendas set by international organizations, OHR-Mfangano strives to equip Kenyans on Lake Victoria with cutting-edge resources to grow a locally-directed future. OHR-Mfangano is based on a unique collaborative system. Our programs are designed and implemented by Mfangano residents working in small teams with student volunteers from around the world, and supported by IT industries, international “Green” movements, and global health partners. As an inspired cooperative of grass-roots activists, we are working together to plant seeds of hope and cultivate local visions of wellbeing.