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Member States of the East African Community (EAC) have urged the government to restore state-backed financial institutions to improve the livelihoods of rural residents. They stated that the current institutions are more focused on profit-making than on residents’ well-being.

Speaking during the summit, Prof. Humphrey Moshi explained that the government needed to establish institutions with far-reaching effects. “We can’t rely only on private institutions, as they don’t serve the farmers in the rural areas who earn little. We should go back to the drawing board, re-strategise, and then move forward after ensuring we have institutions that cater to different communities in society.”

EAC Member of Parliament Dr. Abdullah Makame, who also spoke at the event, stated that there are banks that don’t have branches in rural areas. “Additionally, when it comes to digital systems, not everyone has a mobile phone, and not everyone who does has a device that is connected to the internet. Everyone should have a smartphone to ensure they can access digital financial services so that we can uplift the livelihoods of East Africans,” he said.