The Kenyan government has announced its intention to launch a mobile service called M-Akiba that provides citizens a better option of buying government bonds and securities on their mobile devices with a minimum investment of Kshs 3,000 (US$30).
The M-Akiba bond is a treasury mobile direct program that will be launched in July 2015. The Cabinet Secretary for Treasury said that “This will allow Kenyans to enjoy significantly higher interest rates on government securities compared to the bank deposits through a convenient platform with low entry threshold”.
The M-Akiba financial revolution plan began with collaboration between the Central Bank of Kenya and the World Bank to design the roadmap for its launch. The Telecoms would also have a role to play because potential investors will need a mobile phone line and a subscription to a mobile money service so that an electronic account with the central securities Depository (CDSC) or CBK can be opened on their behalf.
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