ABSTRACT

This paper assesses to what extent, and in what ways, mobile money has affected the financial inclusion of women in Nairobi. Women in Kenya have limited property rights and continue to require approval from their husbands or male family members to conduct financial activities. Besides, most women are concentrated in the informal economy, which has exacerbated their level of financial exclusion since they struggle to provide the documentation that financial institutions require, thus making them more dependent on informal finance. This paper demonstrates how mobile money has significantly decreased the proportion of women in Nairobi excluded from using financial services. Drawing upon survey work conducted by the author across eight areas of Nairobi, this research reveals how mobile money has enabled women to benefit from instant remittance and payment services, and has offered a means of storing money safely, which is an attribute particularly valued by younger women and those with lower levels of educational attainment and income. Although mobile money does not address many of the structural drivers of gendered financial inequality, it has improved levels of financial inclusion by increasing women’s access to various financial channels from which they were previously excluded.

摘要

本文评估了移动货币在何种程度上以及以何种方式影响了内罗毕女性的金融包容性。肯尼亚妇女的财产权有限，并且继续需要丈夫或男性家庭成员的批准才能进行金融活动。此外，大多数女性都集中在非正规经济中，这加剧了她们的金融排斥程度，因为她们难以提供金融机构所需的文件，从而使她们更加依赖非正规金融。本文展示了移动货币如何显着降低了内罗毕女性被排除在金融服务之外的比例。根据作者在内罗毕八个地区进行的调查工作，这项研究揭示了移动货币如何使女性受益于即时汇款和支付服务，并提供了一种安全存储资金的方式，这是年轻女性以及教育程度和收入水平较低的女性特别看重的一个属性。尽管移动货币并没有解决性别金融不平等的许多结构性驱动因素，但它通过增加女性进入以前被排除在外的各种金融渠道的机会，提高了金融包容性水平。