sQuid launches new Microfinance initiative at the mEducation Alliance Symposium in Washington, D.C.
sQuid Kenya General Manager, Simon Kaniu delivers a talk on inclusivity and microfinance at the 2019 mEducation Alliance Symposium in Washington, D.C.
sQuid, the digital transactions and payments service provider, launched its new Kenya Microfinance programme at the mEducation Alliance Symposium in Washington, D.C.
Its purpose is to further drive community economic development and overcome education barriers, working alongside the pioneering and widely respected iMlango e-learning programme already running in over 200 Kenyan communities. In its first phase sQuid Microfinance has enabled 900 parent-run micro-businesses, and the new programme aims to be able to reach up to 30,000 parents, to meet demand.
iMlango’s communities are rural or semi-rural, characterised by economic and educational marginalisation. School systems are overloaded, the education level of parents is typically very low, and banks are rarely present. However, entrepreneurship is strong and there is no lack of business drive amongst the families in these communities. sQuid Microfinance helps these entrepreneurs unlock their business potential, and ensure they can provide for the education of their children.
“Our programme is showing excellent double bottom line results, with improved financial capacity and reduced barriers to education of children. We provide families with an easy way to set aside money for education in a digital wallet, and with our close community relationships built over many years we are able to help good decision-making and ensure that education is top of mind.” said Adam Smith, sQuid’s Chief Executive.
iMlango has been a repeat invited presenter at the mEducation Alliance events, which competitively selects organisations and programmes to join an elite group of ICT policy makers and practitioners to meet annually to share progress. The mEducation Alliance is a consortium of high-profile contributors to education worldwide that identify and highlight good practice examples in international learning development.
sQuid Microfinance Customers, Kenya
Adam added: “Over the last six years, we have developed an evidence-based understanding of the factors that can deliver educational improvement in schools, and those that affect school attendance. Using digital tools to improve access to education is important in our programme, but we also need creative lateral thinking to tackle the issues behind non-attendance at school. Microfinance drives at the heart of some of these problems – it improves economic standing within the family, offers financial inclusivity, and creates an environment where parents are open to helping resolve their children’s education challenges. With our deep experience in financial services as well as in education development, we are equipped to drive significant positive outcomes in our communities.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors
About sQuid:
sQuid is a Kenya and UK based FinTech company specialising in digital transactions. Approved by the Central Bank of Kenya, sQuid has built a sophisticated end-to-end platform for creating, processing and settling digital transactions, using proprietary technologies. Its platform has been delivering the award-winning iMlango service in Kenya since 2014.
About the mEducation Alliance Symposium:
Held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., the mEducation Alliance Symposium is attended by policymakers and practitioners from government, leading donor organizations, the private sector, NGOs, ICT4E researchers, and other innovators. The Symposium brings together these contributors with the aim to reduce the barriers to accessing appropriate, scalable, and low-cost mobile technologies that help improve learning outcomes in formal and non-formal education across all levels, especially in low-resource and developing country contexts.