Giving Compass' Take:

• This Christensen Institute post profiles M-Pesa, a Venmo-like money transfer service that started in Kenya; the company now hopes to expand financial access to low-income people in rural areas around the world.

• What can M-Pesa teach us about scaling fintech and the intersection of banking with economic development? How can we support more services in the same realm?

• Here are four key opportunities for inclusive fintech in the United States.

M-Pesa, Kenya’s largest mobile-money transfer service, made headlines last month when it struck a deal with Western Union to launch M-Pesa Global. The Venmo-esque service is the protagonist in a tale of global prosperity to which we all can look for lessons on the impact of market-creating innovations — yet the company’s roots are far more humble.

Prior to its introduction in Kenya, the situation was such that many breadwinners from rural areas traveled to urban centers for work and then, to get the money they had earned back to their families, often endured long trips home or had to trust someone else to deliver the funds. As Vodafone explains on their website, “These people didn’t have access to financial services, and in rural areas there was little, if any, traditional banking infrastructure.” In fact, the traditional banking system had largely ignored this group, as they didn’t have much money and the majority didn’t have access to brick-and-mortar bank branches. However, where many would-be entrepreneurs might have looked at this situation and seen little potential for successful enterprise, M-Pesa saw opportunity.

Read the full article about prosperity in Kenya through fintech by Katie Zandbergen at Christensen Institute