NAIROBI, KENYA: Majority of Kenyans are putting their hard-earned cash in safe places for big emergencies such as death, medical expenses, education, day-to-day household needs, and old age.
In a survey by Central Bank, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the FSD, buying land, house improvement, and personal reasons such as business expansion and buying new clothes are also reasons why people are saving their money.
Day to day household needs topped reasons for saving in 2016 and 2019 at 25.6 per cent and 48.7 per cent respectively. Savings for burial and medical expenses came in second with a majority at 39.3 per cent thinking of the same in 2019 compared to 21.9 per cent portion in 2016.
Security and convenience are the main drivers influencing the choice of a given savings instrument. Together, they account for 65.8 per cent of the reasons given by the respondents.
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Challenges in having sufficient amount of money to save and lack of regular income were cited as the most constraining factors to savings among Kenyans, at 42.3 percent and 38.3 percent respectively in 2019.
Kenyans have been able to generate an income over the years, but are unable to make savings, as they are not certain of when they’ll make their next earnings.
