Barizi: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Launches Payroll System Allowing Kenyan Workers Access To Credit

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with SeamlessHR in Kenya to launch Barizi platform allowing workers access to early payday
• Barizi solution is backed by Kenyan employers, including the Association of Manufacturers (KAM), DTB and PesaLink
• It aims to give millions of blue-collar workers earning less than KSh 30,000 per month access to faster credit

NAIROBI, Kenya - Bill & Melinda Foundation has partnered with Kenyan employers to introduce the Barizi solution for workers' salary advances.

The payroll system allows blue-collar workers access to early payday and credit facilities.

The deal was inked between technology firm SeamlessHR, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), DTB and PesaLink.

Who will use Barizi solution?

Bidco Africa chairman Vimal Shah noted that the Barizi solution will be significant for workers earning less than KSh 30,000 per month and who have been marginalised in accessing credit.

“The reality on the ground is that in Kenya, we have a million people earning less than KSh 30,000 per month. This results in many blue-collar workers having little or no access to credit, even though they are the ones who keep the wheels moving in organisations and factories,” said Shah.

Shah recommended organisations automate their HR administrative tasks for better efficiency of systems to improve the harmony between employer and employee, hence increasing productivity.

Credit score of Kenyan workers

Barizi platform aims to help casual workers build their credit history, which enables them to access sizeable loans with longer repayment periods.

In Kenya, blue-collar workers are paid between Sh100 and Sh450 per day for jobs ranging from cleaning, picking and packaging, washing, repairing and packaging dry cells.

Most of these workers are paid at the end of the month and do not enjoy additional benefits from their employers.

“At Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe in financial inclusion for workers in the blue-collar sector. We also aim to break cycles of poverty especially for those who have to use physical assets when transacting using cash which can be get lost or stolen,” said Will Kaplan, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation representative.

Casual workers in Kenya

KAM representative Winnie Ngumi said out of the 18 million workforces in Kenya, informal workers comprise over 80% while only two million make up formal employment.

"Most blue-collar workers tend to receive fewer benefits from employers and this explains their financial insecurity. They do not have access to emergency funds, and thus tend to turn to loan shacks and predatory mobile lending apps, sinking into a cycle of debts,” said Ngumi.

According to the economic survey of 2023, between 2012 and 2022, the number of casual jobs increased by 134% from 220,700 to 517,000 compared to a 29% rise in the number of regular permanent jobs to 2.4 million.

“The Barizi solution will improve the financial state of wellbeing of blue collar sector. They do not have to worry about emergency money. This will in turn positively impact their drive and motivation and at the end improve their productivity,” said Dr Emmanuel Okeleji, SeamlessHR CEO and Co-Founder.

Okeleji said the platform is built on the latest cloud technology to ensure casual workers get instant financial wellness.

The system can automatically calculate how long one has worked, and one can access their salary up to the day they have worked.