Kenya’s third largest mobile service provider – Telkom Kenya has inked a deal with the ministry of ICT to develop a youth focused digital wallet that aims to protect them from financial exclusion, especially during the pandemic period. The new service is dubbed as “Fursa”, meaning opportunity in the Swahili language, and will be co-created by Telkom Kenya and the National Youth Council of Kenya (NYCK).
According to the telco, Fursa is expected to offer youth’s a way to access various financial services and products despite physical and infrastructural barriers. Fursa will allow for speedy, secure, and timely disbursement of funds to the youth. According to statistics from the Financial Sector Deepening, close to 23 percent of youths aged between 18-25 years are excluded from mainstream financial services.
The product will be developed to achieve additional functionalities such as a membership management system, financial reconciliation features, savings and investments, experience board for job matching and e-learning as well as experiential skill development.
Speaking on the initiative, Telkom Kenya’s Chief Executive Officer Mugo Kibati said the partnership was first of several Digital Financial Services the company is exploring that have the potential to accelerate the economy into a cash-lite status.
Kibati further noted there was room to increase the financial inclusion of Kenyan youths through digitization and investment in the mobile money ecosystem. He concluded by adding that these efforts would eventually eliminate the problem which had been exacerbated during the pandemic period. On the NYCK’s part, the Chief Executive Roy Sasaka TELEWA said the service will expand a portfolio of financial opportunities to Kenyan youths at the grassroots level. Roy further noted the importance of a strong financial services footprint which will help youths in leveraging applications for business opportunities.