By Dan Muhuni (ICT reporter/ EA Correspondent)
As the banking fraternity continues to make forays into the retail segment, an increasing number of banks have seen the importance of taking financial services to the marginalized communities particularly in the North Eastern province.
In North Eastern, Equity bank has defied all odds to transform the banking industry in the region by offering customer focused financial services that have led to great social and economic change among the communities there.
Equity bank Wajir branch, located over 750 KM from Nairobi is one such outlet that is changing the lives of the northern people through provision of relevant alternate banking solutions.
Speaking to the branch Manager Mr Chrispo Maina, he says the establishment of Equity bank in the region was a dream come true to many since majority of the population was sidelined from banking due to logistical challenges that scare off many investors.
Nearly one and a half years since the branch opened, Equity currently holds more than three quarters of the banked population in the region. The branch uses various methods to access the remote areas within the vast district such as four wheel drive mobile vans that are fitted with solar, laptops and satellite connection to enable staff serve the customers. Some of the areas are as far as 100 km from the branch at Wajir town.
“We started by training the locals on the importance of banking and the need to embrace banking,” says Maina.
The manager says involvement of the bank in community projects to a great extent helped demystify banking. Locals found it easier to come to the bank since they had already met the bank’s staff in various events and interacted with them.
Among the activities initiated by the Wajir branch is tree planting where local people were encouraged to plant and nurture trees. Maina says partnering with institutions of learning has also helped raise the profile of the bank in the region. ”Students would nurture a tree for a given period of time. The programme has so far been very successful”, he adds.
Maina says that the clients have appreciated the provision of banking services and it is helping to build savings as people shift people from banking under their pillows and mattresses to saving money in the bank. The clients appreciate the risks associated with keeping the money in the house such as fires and theft or destruction by vermin. On equal strength, the bank’s staff had to enumerate the advantages of keeping money at Equity Bank such as access to credit facilities, securing of customers’ savings through the deposit protection fund, large bank network among other things.
Some of the locals would keep their money with specific trusted people within the community but often got disappointed on realizing that sometimes they could not access their money when they wanted it back. Equity's coming has addressed some of the challenges especiallly convinience , security and easy access to their money.
M-Kesho
On the recently launched M-Kesho product that is a first between Equity Bank and mobile phone service provider Safaricom, Maina says the banking environment is about differentiating banking products, increased choices, security and accessibility. M-Kesho, he says has become a choice for many in Wajir.
Says Maina: “The ability of a financial Institution to deliver products and services in the most efficient and effective manner is the key to its performance and relevance”.
Maina notes that with the launch of M-Kesho recently, Equity has witnessed an increase in the number of people signing up for it. “People are happy since they feel the bank has moved more steps closer to them.
”Most villages in north eastern are far apart and people at times have to travel as long as 200km to come to the bank. This costs them a lot of money and time. They therefore find M-Kesho very convenient for them”, he explains.
Among the areas expected to play a crucial role in the growth of the product in the area is Habaswein, Gifti, Eldas, Bute and Elwak.
Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP)
Equity bank Wajir has also seen the success of Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), a social funds transfer system that is borne out of the partnership of the Bank, the government of Kenya and UK through DFID. Here, Smart Cards are used to issue cash to hunger stricken and vulnerable families in North Eastern who are identified through biometric means with cash to buy food. The Programme implements cash transfers targeting over 60,000 vulnerable people in the four larger districts of Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir and Mandera.
According to Maina, the programme has so far surpassed its expectations having incorporated more people than initially projected. “We execute this programme with the local traders who form HSNP’s agents. Through our point of sale (POS) the traders disburse the money to the locals and our systems are automatically updated”.
The HSNP programmes currently operate in Wajir, Mandera, Lodwar and Marsabit.
Equity’s role in the programme includes the administration component of collecting all the BIO data making payments, carrying out monitoring and evaluation. .
Chrispo Maina is happy to head a team that lives the Equity Bank vision of been the champion of the social- economic prosperity of the people of North Eastern.
