NAIROBI: An initiative “Treasury Mobile Direct” by the World Bank and Kenya's Central Bank will see that Kenyans will be able to buy bonds using their mobile handsets. The project follows the rise and adoption of mobile handsets here in Kenya. According to reports by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), there has been a rise in the number of mobile money subscribers in the country where it stood at 18.9M last month. The report also sought to uncover that more and more people are using mobile money deposits for payments of goods and services as compared to the use of banking services. Yira Mascaro, a leader of World Bank's financial and private sector development group in Nairobi commented, “Today, any Kenyan can pay their electricity bill with the phone, and so will they be able to pay for bonds bought.” As the project is still in its initial stages it requires that the potential investors will have to be registered as mobile money subscribers with the various Telecomm Operators in the country, who will in turn open up Central Depository System accounts for them. The scheme will give rise to a savings culture and increase participation in the bond market.
