Nairobi, Kenya – February 23, 2025.
The Kenyan government’s ambitious move to transition the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme to M-Pesa, the country’s leading mobile money platform, has been hailed as a transformative step toward financial inclusion and efficiency.
Launched as a pilot in Murang’a and Marsabit counties in November 2024 and expanded nationwide in January 2025, the initiative aims to deliver stipends directly to over 1.7 million beneficiaries—elderly citizens above 70, orphans, vulnerable children, and persons with severe disabilities—via their mobile phones.
However, as the programme gains momentum, significant enrolment challenges threaten to undermine its promise, leaving some of Kenya’s most vulnerable citizens struggling to access their lifeline funds.
The Inua Jamii programme, which translates to “Uplift the Community” in Swahili, has been a cornerstone of Kenya’s social protection framework since 2007, growing from a modest 300 beneficiaries to over 1.2 million today.
Traditionally disbursed through six contracted commercial banks—Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank, Postbank, National Bank, Equity Bank, and Kenya Women Finance Trust—the programme faced persistent issues, including long queues, travel hardships for the elderly and disabled, and delays in payments.
In response, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, under Principal Secretary Joseph Motari, partnered with Safaricom and the e-Citizen platform to shift payments to M-Pesa.
The new system, accessible by dialing the USSD code *222#, allows beneficiaries to withdraw their monthly stipend of KSh 2,000 from any of M-Pesa’s extensive network of agents, eliminating the need for bank visits. “This is about dignity and convenience,” Motari said in a statement on January 23, 2025. “No one should have to trek miles or wait in line for hours to access what’s rightfully theirs.”
The transition aligns with President William Ruto’s directive to modernize government services and reduce inefficiencies.
During his Jamhuri Day address in December 2023, Ruto emphasized that mobile money would save beneficiaries from “the hassle of long distances, costs, and inconveniences.”
By January 2025, the government reported disbursing KSh 3.517 billion to 1,758,735 beneficiaries through M-Pesa, with plans to reach two million by September 2025.
Enrolment Challenges Surface
Despite the enthusiasm, the shift to M-Pesa has exposed significant hurdles in enrolment, threatening to exclude some of the very people the programme aims to uplift.
A key requirement is that beneficiaries must have a Safaricom line registered with their national ID and an active M-Pesa account.
For current Safaricom users, this is a simple activation process, but for those without mobile phones or M-Pesa accounts—many of whom are elderly or live in remote areas—the process has proven daunting.
In Murang’a County, where the pilot began, County Director for Social Services Lucy Gakere reported a successful rollout, with all 73,774 beneficiaries receiving their November 2024 stipends via M-Pesa.
Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests a different reality elsewhere. Posts on X highlight cases like an elderly woman who walked nearly 10 kilometers to an M-Pesa agent, only to discover she wasn’t enrolled—allegedly sent on this fruitless errand by a local chief.
Such stories underscore a lack of awareness and logistical support for enrolment.
The Ministry has acknowledged that approximately 100,000 beneficiaries nationwide remain unenrolled as of February 2025.
These individuals, primarily caregivers for orphans and persons with severe disabilities, received their January payments through banks as a final grace period.
However, a recent directive mandates that uncollected bank funds must be withdrawn by March 10, 2025, or revert to the Ministry, adding urgency to the enrolment drive. Coordinators have been tasked with notifying beneficiaries, but gaps in communication persist.
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