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Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs
Mini Dissertation (MPhil (International Business))--University of Pretoria, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613538802991104 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Myres, Kerrin |
| author_browse | Myres, Kerrin |
| author_facet | Myres, Kerrin |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Mini Dissertation (MPhil (International Business))--University of Pretoria, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109180 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:44.900Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109180 Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs Myres, Kerrin ichelp@gibs.co.za Motukisi, Amogelang UCTD Fintech intermediation Sequential institutional substitution Export trade finance Institutional asymmetry Legitimacy construction Mini Dissertation (MPhil (International Business))--University of Pretoria, 2025. Export trade finance in Kenya remains constrained by fragmented institutions, restrictive regulatory arrangements and high-governance requirements that non-bank actors struggle to meet. This study examines how fintech firms structure and deliver export-oriented financing under these institutional asymmetries. Using an interpretivist qualitative design, the research draws on ten semi-structured interviews with senior fintech professionals and integrates empirical insights with institutional and financial-intermediation perspectives through abductive analysis. The findings show that fintechs enable export finance through sequential institutional substitution: a staged progression in which firms build operational capacity and domestic legitimacy before entering high-governance export domains. Fintechs navigate layered regulative, normative and cognitive voids while constructing multi-level legitimacy across State, market and professional audiences. Once credible, fintechs deploy digital and organisational intermediation mechanisms, including alternative-data triangulation, hybrid screening, external capital coordination, purchase-order financing and value-chain orchestration, to embed governance and verification within transactions where formal systems are weak or inaccessible. The study advances theoretical understanding of how non-traditional financial intermediaries operate within institutional voids and demonstrates that export finance intermediation requires the co-evolution of legitimacy, capability and digital mechanisms. The results offer practical implications for regulators, DFIs and trade-promotion stakeholders seeking to expand export finance access through fintech-enabled models. Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) MPhil (International Business) Unrestricted Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure 2026-03-23T09:37:19Z 2026-03-23T09:37:19Z 2026-05-05 2025 Mini Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109180 en © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Fintech intermediation Sequential institutional substitution Export trade finance Institutional asymmetry Legitimacy construction Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title | Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title_full | Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title_fullStr | Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title_short | Intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry: evidence from Kenyan fintechs |
| title_sort | intermediating export trade finance under institutional asymmetry evidence from kenyan fintechs |
| topic | UCTD Fintech intermediation Sequential institutional substitution Export trade finance Institutional asymmetry Legitimacy construction |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109180 |