Self-efficacy and Financial Inclusion of Working Women in Uganda

Abstract

Financial inclusion has emerged as the primary driver of inclusive economic growth even in developing countries and women are critical to the financial inclusion strategy due to their numerical significance and typically living longer than men. Though literature supports the notion that self-efficacy in financial matters promotes financial inclusion, little is known as to whether such a link exists among women in a developing country. Guided by the social cognitive theory, this article examines the level of self-efficacy and financial inclusion, and the relationship between self-efficacy and financial inclusion among working women in Uganda. The inquiry used a correlational cross-sectional design, a sample size of 384 from a population of 327,930 working women in Kampala district, Uganda, and a structured questionnaire to obtain primary data. Exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to answer the study objectives. The results found that the level of financial self-efficacy and financial inclusion among working women in Uganda is 51% and 56% respectively. Additionally, the results confirm that self-efficacy positively and significantly (B=0.187, β= 0.232, p<0.05) affected financial inclusion. Therefore, the null hypothesis, ‘Self-efficacy has no significant effect on financial inclusion among working women in Uganda’ was rejected. We thus recommend that more empirical work needs to be done to clearly understand those unique factors that enhance financial self- efficacy of women in a developing country so that Government of Uganda and the other stakeholders in financial inclusion can design evidence-based initiatives that strengthen the financial self-efficacy of women so as to enhance their financial inclusion.