The government is set to ensure 62% of all Kenyans have access to financial services by the year 2030.

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta says that the government will facilitate financial institutions to move into rural areas by licensing Savings and Credit Co-operative societies and petrol stations to act as agents for banks and micro-finance institutions in the future.

The Minister was speaking Thursday during the opening of the micro-finance network 16th annual conference in Nairobi.

The micro-finance act, passed in Kenya last year and the country currently has one licensed micro-finance institution.

The micro- finance sector in Kenya currently has 4.5 million customers figure stake holders say can go higher with more financial sector reforms.

Uhuru noted that the government is already on course with implementing this reforms noting that Central Bank has already created a division within it to supervise the institutions.

He also noted that his ministry will bring forward more legislature to help oversee remittances.

Equity bank Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi noted that the country had been selected to host the forum because of its advancement in mobile banking.

The three- day international symposium will discuss how the global financial crisis has affected microfinance institutions across continents.

The Meeting which is organized by the MicroFinance Network (MFN) and hosted by Equity Bank brings together leading microfinance institutions from over 20 countries.

It is the first time a meeting by the MFN members is taking place in Kenya.