Kenya to roll out literacy strategy to boost capital markets penetration

Kenya plans to roll out a National Consumer Financial Education Strategy to boost capital markets penetration, a senior official said on Friday.

Cabinet Secretary in the National Treasury Henry Rotich told a capital markets forum in Nairobi that Kenya's capital market penetration is still relatively low at around 10 percent of the adult population compared with 40 percent, 30 percent and 53 percent in Australia, Britain and the United States respectively.

"For the capital markets, investor education is important to promote greater retail participation in the market as we seek to democratize access to opportunities for wealth creation," Rotich said during the official opening of the fifth annual capital markets open day.

The conference will focus on the mobilization of savings through investment in capital markets products and spans a broader demographic spectrum.

The Capital Market Authority is currently conducting an Investor Education Impact Assessment Study that will identify the investment habits, perceived challenges and opportunities that can be leveraged by the existing and potential investing community.

Critically, the study will also inform the development of a White Paper on a consumer financial education framework pertaining to the Capital Markets.

Rotich said Kenya recognizes that improving financial literacy and educating consumers around financial products and services has become an essential means toward greater economic, social and financial inclusion.

He said the education and empowerment efforts are well aligned with the important strides Kenya has taken towards becoming an International Financial Centre, through introducing world class policy, regulatory and institution frameworks aimed at promoting investor confidence. Endit