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Is Inclusive Digital Innovation Inclusive? An Investigation of M-Shwari in Kenya

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Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D (ICT4D 2019)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 551))

Abstract

Inclusive digital innovations are IT-enabled innovations with the potential to promote inclusive socioeconomic development for the poor and underserved inhabitants of developing countries. This paper inquires about the extent to which this worthy objective has actually been achieved. Specifically, the paper focuses on M-Shwari, the Kenyan mobile savings and credit service. Although members of the development community and other stakeholders might hope M-Shwari to serve poor, rural, and financially underserved Kenyans, the research findings show that M-Shwari primarily reaches wealthier urban inhabitants who are already financially served. These results call for greater scholarly attention to excluded groups when evaluating the impacts of digital innovations in developing countries.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.cgap.org/blog/top-10-things-know-about-m-shwari.

  2. 2.

    http://fsdkenya.org/dataset/finaccess-household-2016.

  3. 3.

    http://data.imf.org/?sk=E5DCAB7E-A5CA-4892-A6EA-598B5463A34C.

  4. 4.

    Ibid.

  5. 5.

    ROSCAs refer to groups that regularly collect money from each member and give it to one person in turn; ASCAs refer to groups that regularly collect money from members, and lend to its members or other people with interest.

  6. 6.

    https://www.unicef.org/kenya/overview_4616.html.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bentley University, Waltham, MA, 02452, USA

    Wenxiu (Vince) Nan & M. Lynne Markus

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  1. Wenxiu (Vince) Nan
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  2. M. Lynne Markus
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Correspondence to Wenxiu (Vince) Nan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Nielsen

  2. University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Honest Christopher Kimaro

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Nan, W., Markus, M.L. (2019). Is Inclusive Digital Innovation Inclusive? An Investigation of M-Shwari in Kenya. In: Nielsen, P., Kimaro, H.C. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D. ICT4D 2019. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 551. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_38

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18399-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18400-1

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