M-Akiba

M-Akiba allows users to purchase government bonds in very small amounts, without the need for a bank account. It is a product by the government of Kenya through the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) under the National Treasury in collaboration with Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Central Depository Settlement Corporation (CDSC), Safaricom, Airtel and Kenya Association of Stock Brokers & Investment Banks (KASIB).

The pilot phase of this first-of-a-kind mobile-only government bond for US$1.5 million was launched in March 2017 with transactions ranging from US$30 to US$140.
With Blockchain beneath the new project, its key asset of ensuring transaction immutability having eliminated the need for an enforcer of trust in the ecosystem would be valuable for M-Akiba.

Apart from proposing to support with market research on assessing the use of Fintech technology particularly Blockchain to simplify the platforms backing the system, the Bank's team will also help with improvements to the product to fit the profile of the unbanked potential savers (instead of the 3-year bond) and institutional set ups to manage the platform to eliminate intermediation layers between the Treasury and investors.

In its 'The future of financial infrastructure' report last year, The World Economic Forum stated that Blockchain has great potential to drive simplicity and efficiency through the establishment of new financial services infrastructure and processes.