UK to Make Mobile Cash Transfers Totaling Sh717 Million to 50,000 Kenyan Families

The UK has pledged an additional funding of Sh717 million to support vulnerable families living in informal settlements in Kenya.

The funds will be disbursed to 50,000 poor households in Nairobi and Mombasa slum areas through mobile money platforms to cushion them from the harsh economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking on Friday, British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott said the UK is committed to supporting the people of Kenya during and after the pandemic.

“The coronavirus pandemic is global. We are all in this together. Across the world, there are a significant impact on people’s jobs and livelihoods,” Marriot said.

“This support will also stimulate the wider local economy as most of the basic items are supplied by small business owners living within their communities.”

The mobile cash transfer program is part of the efforts the UK has made to help Kenya to address the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis.

The cash transfers will be done through the UKaid-funded Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), which has helped make timely and predictable cash disbursements to at least 600,000 vulnerable families in northern Kenya since 2007.