Fintech Now and in the Future: the Role of Central Banks

Photo by Intersect

A Conversation with Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (Yale Economics PhD '93) and Professor Tavneet Suri (IDE MA '01 and Yale Economics PhD '06)

Event Details

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 11:00AM EST
Hosts: Yale Department of Economics, Economic Growth Center, and International and Development Economics Masters Program

Event Description

The fast escalation of mobile money in Kenya in the early 2000s provided new opportunities for economic growth and gave digital financial services to many people with little access to brick-and-mortar banks. Today in Kenya 96 percent of households have a mobile money account, and other African countries show high and growing usage. But has the mobile money revolution lived up to its full potential in spurring the economy, especially for the poor? What policies have led to greater digital financial inclusion, and what actions can be taken to better serve citizens?

Kenya Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge and MIT Professor of Applied Economics Tavneet Suri have worked at the intersection of financial inclusion and technology in Kenya for many years. Their paths have crossed at various points and they have both drawn on their economics training at Yale throughout their careers. In this interactive conversation, they discuss the Kenyan case and the future role of Central Banks as technologies that build on the rails of mobile money get more widely adopted.

Part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of EGC and the 65th of the International Development and Economics (IDE) Masters program at Yale, this keynote event launched a multi-day forum for students, affiliates, and alumni to hear from an array of IDE graduates who are now faculty at top tier research universities and influential policymakers.

Learn more about the IDE Program

Speakers

Dr. Patrick Njoroge currently serves as Governor of the Central Bank. He holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University and a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Economics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to joining the Central Bank, Dr Njoroge had a long career, spanning 20 years, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Washington, D.C.. At the IMF, he was advisor to the IMF Deputy Managing Director from December 2012. He also served as Deputy Division Chief in the IMF’s Finance Department and IMF Mission Chief for the Commonwealth of Dominica, as well as other capacities beginning in 1995. Prior to joining the IMF, Dr Njoroge worked in Kenya as an economist at the Ministry of Finance and as a planning officer at the Ministry of Planning. His professional and research interests are in Macroeconomics, Economic Policy, International Finance, Development Economics, Econometrics and Monetary Policy. Photo courtesy of IMF Photo, Flikr.

Tavneet Suri is the Louis E. Seley Professor of Applied Economics and an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her expertise is in the role of technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tavneet is editor-in-chief of VoxDev; Scientific Director for Africa for J-PAL; CoChair of the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative at J-PAL; Chair of the Digital Identification and Finance Initiative at J-PAL Africa; and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She holds a BA in economics from Cambridge University, UK, and an MA in International and Development Economics (IDE) and a PhD in economics, both from Yale University.

Contact

For questions, please contact ide@yale.edu.