Digital Financial Inclusion and Financial Health in Kenya: Gendered Analysis

Abstract

This paper adopted propensity score matching to estimate the propensity of digital financial inclusion among women in Kenya and the average treatment effect of digital financial inclusion on financial health of women in Kenya. Utilizing the Financial Access Survey 2021 dataset on 22024 households, the study found that the socio-demographic aspects that contributed to the digital financial uptake among women was the level of education, marital status, religion, age, and place of residence, with significant differences between users and non-users of digital finance. In addition, with mobile phone and television ownership, there was a higher likelihood of women using digital finance, with a significant difference between users and non-users. Additionally, it was found that women in Kenya using digital finance are more likely to be financially healthy.  We, therefore, recommend that more targeted approach by government and financial institutions towards enhancing digital literacy, the government needs to implement gender-responsive policies that would foster the subsidization of mobile devices and offer incentives for mobile network operators to strengthen rural network connectivity, and the Kenya government and financial institutions could capitalize on accessible communication channels such as mobile phones, radio, and community outreach programs.