Maisha 254

Dr. Crick Lund, PhD The global economy has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Africa it has led to significant contraction of national economies, and more people living in poverty. The journey to recovery will be a long and difficult one for African economies and will be strongly dependent on the resilience and productivity of the workforce. There is increasing global evidence that productivity in the workplace is profoundly influenced by mental health.  Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development defines mental health as, “The capacity of thought, emotion, and behavior that enables every individual to realize their own potential in relation to their developmental stage, to cope with the normal stresses of life, to study or work productively and fruitfully, and to contribute to their community”.  It is estimated that mental illnesses cost $2.5 trillion globally in 2010, and this cost will rise to over $6 trillion by 2030. Most of these costs are indi

Julian King, VP and General Manager at Xoom Xoom, PayPal’s money transfer service, announced in December of 2020 that the company’s customers in the US, UK, Canada and Europe can now send secure and convenient money transfers directly to mobile wallets in key markets across Africa with a focus on the underbanked segment. Maisha254's Benson Kamau spoke to Julian King, Vice President and General Manager at Xoom, to find out what the firm has in store for the Kenyan market. What does this entry into the Kenyan market look to achieve? Mobile money services are a key tool to further the goal of financial inclusion which is instrumental in lifting the unde rserved population out of poverty—and for driving economic growth. We picked these initial set of countries as they have a high percentage of mobile money registered account holders. In Kenya, over 60 percent of adults have mobile money accounts. In 2021, we plan to introduce our mobile wallet to more countries across Africa. Why did