Kenya
M-PESA is an agent-assisted, mobile phone based payment and money transfer service offered by Safaricom, a mobile network operator in Kenya. The IRIS Center and MFO conducted studies to address how and why M-PESA is used, and to determine the major socio-economic outcomes stemming from use of M-PESA at household and community levels.
Community Effects of M-PESA: The IRIS Center conducted inductive research using qualitative tools to identify the community-level effects of M-PESA, its impact on food and water security, potential trajectory of the system, and constraints to its growth.
Household effects of M-PESA: MFO gathered extensive data from about 92 low-income Kenyan households using Financial Diaries methodology to understand how M-PESA is used, its value proposition to the clients and whether it could be used to deliver financial services beyond remittances.
Papers
Cash In, Cash Out Kenya: The Role of M-PESA in the Lives of Low-Income People
by Guy Stuart and Monique Cohen
Water Delivery through Payment Platform — M-PESA Pushes the Rural Frontier
by Sherri Haas and Geetha Nagarajan
Outreach of M-PESA System in Kenya: Emerging Trends
by Sherri Haas, Megan Plyler, and Geetha Nagarajan
Community-Level Economic Effects of M-PESA in Kenya: Initial Findings
by Megan Plyler, Sherri Haas, and Geetha Nagarajan
Briefs
M-PESA and access to health in Kenya
Sherri Haas and Geetha Nagarajan
Same Ends, Different Means: The Role of Social Networks in Shaping M-PESA Use
by Guy Stuart and Monique Cohen
Mile wide, inch deep: The Uses of E-Money among Low-Income Kenyans
by Guy Stuart and Monique Cohen
Dry Spells and Shocks: M-PESA as a Financial Management Tool
by Guy Stuart and Monique Cohen
Transforming Mobile Money Into Food In Kenya
by Geetha Nagarajan and Sherri Haas
