FSD UgandaNew research initiative targets financial inclusion for Uganda’s young women
Financial Inclusion in Uganda has been on the rise. Between 2013 and 2023, formal financial inclusion rose from 52 percent to 68 percent, primarily driven by increased access to digital financial services like mobile money.1 While financial inclusion has increased over the last decade, the gender gap has persisted and grown from 1 percent to 6 percent between 2018 and 2023.2
Across low-income countries, the gender gap in financial inclusion emerges just as young women take on adult responsibilities. Despite this, the age at which young women become financially included in Uganda has been falling more than in comparable countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. It is still unclear what factors helped young Ugandan women (YUW) become financially included at earlier ages and which young Ugandan women are still excluded.
To shed light on these factors and address the financial inclusion gender gap when it first appears in young adulthood, FSD Uganda has initiated a three-year action research effort. This is designed to expand the availability and quality of financial services for those young women who remain excluded/underserved. It is also an opportunity to harvest learnings from Uganda in the area of young women’s financial inclusion.
The first year of the project will focus on qualitative and quantitative research on how women between the ages of 15 and 24 interact with, access, and make decisions concerning the usage of financial services. In years two and three, these research findings will inform action research with financial system stakeholders on solutions that can enhance financial inclusion in this segment.
Specifically, the project will undertake the following key activities:
- Analysis of the evolution of young women’s financial inclusion in Uganda from 2009, paying attention to the demand and supply side factors responsible for the observed trends;
- Identification of segments of young Ugandan women aged 18-24 at various levels of financial inclusion to understand how those who have moved into higher levels have done so, as well as the barriers standing in the way of those who remain excluded;
- Development and dissemination of research outputs periodically, sharing lessons/findings on young women’s financial inclusion in Uganda with practitioners, policymakers, donors, and other FSD country programs, and connecting these with global research partners and platforms
- Engagement with policy actors to understand their perspectives and explore options for advocacy and enhancing policy action for innovation in financing young women;
- Identification of potential financial service providers with whom FSD Uganda will partner to design and test products and services targeted towards young Ugandan women and facilitate entry of young women into the digital economy.
- Piloting methods of helping un/underserved segments of young Ugandan women become more active users of financial services, potentially in conjunction with the provision of complementary services
The findings are expected to extend and deepen financial inclusion for un-/underserved segments of young Ugandan women as well as to inform work in other countries on closing the gender gap. FSD Uganda invites interested stakeholders to reach out to the research team with any relevant reports, evaluations and studies through Anthea Paelo (apaelo@fsduganda.or.ug) and Geoffrey Okidi (gokidi@fsduganda.or.ug), who are the key liaisons for the project.
Note: Findings from the research will be published in subsequent blogs/update.
