Influence of Financial Education in Enhancing Financial Inclusion in Rural Kenya: A Case of KCB Bank Agent Outlets in Market West Sub County

The relationship between financial development and growth has been studied extensively by researchers in the past decade. The World Bank and other financial institutions have declared that by 2020, all world population need to have bank accounts for social economic development. Agency banking is one invention aimed at ensuring financial inclusion of rural people towards promoting development. And the World Bank Group in October 2013 postulated the global goal of universal access to basic transaction services as an important milestone toward full financial inclusion—a world where everyone has access and can use the financial services he or she needs to capture opportunities and reduce vulnerability (World Bank 2013b). However, statistics from Kenya Bankers Association (2010) shows that almost 50.0% of the population in rural Kenya have bank accounts. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to establish the influence of education in enhancing financial inclusion of rural population in Marakwet West Sub County. The study was guided by agency theory and was conducted in Marakwet West Sub County, KCB Mtaani agent outlets. The study used a survey research design approach. Information from Kapsowar KCB branch shows that 156 agents had been registered by December 2014. The manager at Kapsowar KCB Bank Branch acted as a key informant for the research. The sample size involved 113 respondents who were selected through simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through use of questionnaires and interviews. Validity, piloting and reliability procedures were undertaken to ascertain the instruments are effective. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results of the research are presented in tables. The study found out that financial education (r=0.126), was a significant factors (p