Agent Network Accelerator Survey: Kenya Country Report 2013
This paper presents the research findings of a study that focuses on operational determinants of success in agent network management. The determinants specifically include quality of provider support, agent and agency demographics, core agency operations, liquidity management, and business model viability. The research was based on a nationally representative sample of over 2,000 mobile money agent surveys carried out in 2013. The paper states that, after seven years of market development, Kenya continues to be dominated by one strong provider with an army of exclusive agents. These agents are well supported, and generate very high transaction levels but only offer a limited suite of products and have fairly low profits. The paper discusses the following in detail:
- Providers’ market share, levels of daily transaction and barriers to them;
- Profitability: its variability, agency-wide affectation, and comparison of profits by existing dimensions;
- Revenue versus GNI per capita, operational expenses of agents, levels of exclusivity, and rebalancing scenario;
- Mobile money vs. agent banking: similarities, key differences, and health comparison;
- Attributes of agent network management and opportunities for improvement.
