LocationsBy Martin Namasaka
A woman accessing mobile financial services in Lodwar, Kenya
Allan Gichigi
Walking in Mike McCaffrey’s footsteps is to see the world through the eyes of an explorer—one who finds purpose in every journey. His adventures blend rugged landscapes with the stories of the people he meets, revealing the unseen connections between nature, opportunity, and progress. To travel with him, even in conversation, is to step beyond maps and borders into a world where the wilderness and the digital frontier are equally untamed, filled with possibilities waiting to be discovered.
As we sit down for this conversation, I realize we share a common thread—our love for the mountains. We’ve both climbed Mount Mulanje in Malawi, and while he has trekked through some of the most rugged landscapes on Earth, I have scaled Africa’s highest peaks: Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Our journeys, though different, are bound by a shared appreciation for nature’s quiet power and its ability to shape perspectives.
Mike’s journey has been anything but ordinary. Born in China and raised in San Francisco, he has lived among the towering peaks of Bolivia, the turquoise waters of Fiji, the bustling streets of Singapore, and the vast, open savannas of Kenya. He has driven across America in a 26-state odyssey, and later, in what many would call an impossible feat, embarked on a 15-month road trip across Africa—winding through sixteen countries from Nairobi to Cape Town and back. His travels are more than adventures; they are a way of understanding the pulse of the world, the heartbeat of communities often left in the margins of modern progress.
For Mike, the journey is never just about the destination; it’s about the people he meets along the way—the farmers, the traders, the entrepreneurs whose resilience fuels his mission. By day, he manages a US$ 54 million programme on financing micro and small enterprises in the East and Southern Africa region (Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), known as ‘FinWise.’
With a unique capital mandate within the UN System, UNCDF addresses critical challenges in mobilizing private and public investment for high-risk, frontier markets, many of which have long been underserved by traditional financial architecture.
FinWise focuses on using digital technologies together with UNCDF’s blended financial instruments to build business models and mobilize capital for enterprises that need it most.
In his work, Mike’s passion for travel and nature converge with his expertise in digital financial inclusion. Where others see remote villages disconnected from global markets, he sees potential—financial tools that could empower micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, using technology that could turn isolation into opportunity. His work takes him deep into communities, where access to small amounts of productive credit can mean the difference between subsistence and prosperity.
Mike taking a photo of a rhino
Mike, you’ve traveled across continents, from Bolivia’s mountains to Fiji’s waters, and even driven across Africa. How has your love for exploration shaped your approach to digital financial inclusion?
(Laughs) That’s a great question! Travel has given me a deep appreciation for how people innovate in the face of adversity. Whether it’s a trader in a remote Kenyan village or a farmer in Malawi, people find ways to adapt and survive. The challenge is often access—access to markets, resources, and financial tools. Just like crossing uncharted terrain, financial inclusion is about finding pathways where none seem to exist. It’s about looking beyond the obstacles and seeing the potential.
Kenya is often seen as a leader in digital finance, but as your work highlights, many communities are still left behind. What’s stopping financial inclusion from reaching everyone?
Kenya’s success with mobile money, especially M-PESA, is phenomenal, but financial access isn’t the same as financial health. Sure, 85% of adults have access to financial services, but only 18% are considered financially healthy. As Financial Sector Deepening Kenya’s 2024 FinAccess survey shows, millions of Kenyans still struggle to save, invest, or even handle unexpected expenses.
Only 50% of Kenyans can manage their daily financial needs effectively.
Just 33% have the resilience to cope with financial risks such as medical emergencies or economic downturns.
The percentage of Kenyans able to invest in their future has declined from 40% to 17%.
These numbers illustrate a fundamental challenge: increased access to financial services does not automatically translate into impact and in some cases can even create problems like over indebtedness. The real goal is to ensure that financial tools genuinely improve livelihoods, build resilience, and create opportunities for investment and economic mobility.
The 2024 FinAccess survey shows there are still big gaps in access to formal finance. Geographically, the biggest gaps are in counties such as Turkana and West Pokot, where financial access stands at just 66% and 49%, respectively. Even Narok, located just a few hours from Nairobi, only has a financial access rate of only 73%.
Then there’s the youth—about a quarter of young Kenyans don’t have formal financial accounts, which limits their ability to invest in their futures. Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and refugees face even bigger challenges, in accessing financial services. In the Kakuma refugee settlement, 95% of those that want to start a business report their major constraint is access to capital. Despite the presence of digital financial tools, these communities generally cannot access the capital they need, making it difficult for them to build livelihoods and integrate into local economies.
So, while Kenya has done a fantastic job expanding access to formal finance, there’s still work to do to ensure people have the services they need to meet their basic needs.
Mike engaging with a village and loans savings group in Uganda
That reminds me of your road trip across Africa—16 countries, right? What did that experience teach you about financial inclusion in different regions?
(Grinning) Yes, 16 countries and 15 months on the road! That journey showed me the diversity of financial landscapes across Africa. In many countries, mobile money is expanding rapidly improving people’s ability to make payments over long distances. The more exciting development is the digital data streams that digital platforms like this produce, which can unlock working capital loans for microenterprises. I saw firsthand how the right financial tools can empower microenterprises—like in Uganda, where digitalizing data from dairy cooperatives was helping dairy farmers access capital for their operations.
One big takeaway? Solutions must be tailored to local realities. What works in Nairobi won’t necessarily work in a Maasai community in Narok. Globally, 75% adults that register for mobile money do not use it, and after 18 years of digital finance innovation most micro and small businesses still cannot get the credit they need. That’s why financial inclusion efforts need to be very thoughtful about supporting financial products that truly meet people’s needs.
Digital finance has been a game-changer, but traditional banks still provide only 8% of credit to micro and small businesses in Kenya. How can digital innovation help bridge this gap?
This is a huge challenge. Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs—make up 90% of businesses in Kenya, but they’re getting only a tiny fraction of commercial credit. That’s a $20 billion financing gap! Without adequate financial support, these enterprises cannot expand, innovate, or create jobs at the scale needed to drive economic growth.
Digital solutions can help in four ways:
- Alternative Credit Scoring – By using digital data from payments, inventory, supply chains, we can proxy cash flows and assess creditworthiness beyond traditional bank records. This means a market vendor with no formal banking history can still qualify for a loan based on their mobile money transactions.
- Operational Efficiency – Many financial service providers have operational models that require stacks of paperwork, lots of field officers and manual approvals. Digital tools create efficiencies that unlock the unit economies for smaller transactions that are more appropriate for low-income markets.
- Pay-As-You-Go Models – We’ve seen success with mobile phone and solar irrigation financing using this model, and it can work for small businesses too, allowing them to pay for assets in small, manageable installments.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning – These technologies can help financial institutions offer personalized loan products that match an entrepreneur’s specific cash flow patterns.
The goal is to make finance work for people—not the other way around.
MTN agent in Uganda
Helix Institute
How can we unlock financial opportunity through digital innovation?
Evidence from Kenya and Uganda shows that increased access to credit for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) led to a 54% increase in profitability. However, with the MSME financing gap still in the billions in each country, traditional financial institutions alone cannot bridge this divide.
Digital innovation presents a unique opportunity to address these challenges at scale. By leveraging vast pools of digital data, we can create cost-effective solutions that provide productive finance to millions of underserved businesses. Microfinance once revolutionized financial access but has been constrained by the high cost of serving people in low population dense areas, which are common in the region. Digital finance has the potential to go even further—reaching orders of magnitude more people than microfinance ever could.
In particular, digital finance can be instrumental in targeting micro-entrepreneurs, women, and forcibly displaced persons. Through collaborations with partners such as the UNDP and Accelerator Labs, we can create tailored financial solutions that meet the needs of these groups, helping them build sustainable livelihoods and contribute to economic growth.
Lastly, the UN—especially UNDP and UNCDF—plays a key role in financial inclusion. What’s the UN’s role in making sure digital finance benefits everyone?
The UN is critical in bringing together governments, the private sector, and communities to ensure financial solutions serve the most vulnerable. We do this in five key ways:
Balancing People and Profits – The private sector must generate returns, but financial solutions must also be designed to serve those who are often ignored by commercial banks and investors.
Creating New Markets Without Disrupting Existing Ones – Developing new financial products must be done thoughtfully to avoid unintended negative consequences in emerging markets.
Consumer Education and Protection – Financial literacy programs are essential, yet they are rarely profitable ventures. The UN can help bridge this gap by supporting initiatives that educate consumers on how to use financial services responsibly.
Regulatory Innovation – Governments need frameworks that allow for innovation while safeguarding economic stability. The UN’s expertise in policy and regulatory design can help strike this delicate balance.
Aligning Capital with Development Goals – By directing investments towards green and climate-friendly financial solutions, we can ensure that digital financial inclusion contributes to sustainable development and long-term resilience.
We’re not here to replace banks or fintech companies, but to make sure the system works for everyone—especially those who need it most.
Kenya’s success in digital financial inclusion is undeniable, and there is still much work to be done. The country must now change the narrative from access to impact to ensure that financial services are improving livelihoods, strengthening businesses, and fostering inclusive economic growth.
UNDP and UNCDF stand ready to support Kenya in this next phase of financial inclusion. By combining UNDP’s convening power, policy expertise and inclusive markets experience with the financial tools and knowledge of UNCDF, we can help ensure that digital finance reaches every corner of the country, leaving no one behind.
The future of financial inclusion in Kenya is not just about celebrating past successes—it is about forging new paths, innovating responsibly, and ensuring that digital finance is a force for true economic empowerment. Let’s work together to make that vision a reality.
Before we wrap up, do you ever see yourself slowing down on the travel and adventure front?
(Laughs) Never! Whether it’s scaling a mountain or solving an inclusive finance challenge, the thrill is in the journey. The world is full of untapped opportunities—you just have to keep exploring.
Click here to download UNDP Kenya's discussion paper: Addressing Inequality: Universal Access to Digital Financial Services for Equitable Growth.
A woman smiles while holding a phone in Narok, Kenya
Allan Gichigi
