ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 explores the gender aspects of the case study at the centre of this research, M-Pesa in Kenya. While M-Pesa, unlike microcredit programmes, does not specifically target women, its development is embedded in political, economic and social relations and institutions which are gendered. The chapter first looks at the Kenyan context and the interaction between global and local dynamics that created the conditions for the development of M-Pesa. It then illustrates the institutional and regulatory arrangements that have contributed to M-Pesa’s rapid growth, focusing on the public-private partnership between Vodafone and DFID and the involvement of local and international institutions. The chapter problematises the inclusionary mobile money platform and shows how M-Pesa’s expansion not only relied on the unequal gender structures and relations shaped by Kenya’s colonial and postcolonial history, but also risks creating new gendered responsibilities and inequalities by promoting the narrative that poor people can live well on a small and irregular income if they have access to a financial instrument such as M-Pesa to manage their small amount of money efficiently.
