Deepening Financial Inclusion for Young Women in Uganda
There are approximately 4.5 million women aged 16-24 in Uganda – almost 10% of the country’s entire population. These transitional years between adolescence and adulthood have outsized importance in determining young women’s life trajectories. How they move from school to work, from legal minority to full citizenship, and from ward to caregiver, will impact not only their own life outcomes but those of generations to come. And those transitions are determined in no small part by how they access and manage resources.
The paper summarzses Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU)'s research on how young Ugandan women are doing that, specifically by accessing and using financial services. It was produced under the Young Ugandan Women’s Financial Inclusion (YUWFI) initiative, which aims to understand how young women engage with financial services at different life stages, and how these patterns can inform more effective strategies to deepen financial inclusion and economic participation.
The findings presented draw on secondary research as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis commissioned by FSDU and conducted by FinMark Trust (FMT) and Gmaurich Insights. Together, these analyses are intended to inform financial service providers (FSPs), policymakers, donors, and FSDU’s own future programming.
The paper begins by examining the current status and evolution of young women’s financial inclusion in Uganda, alongside key explanatory factors. It then presents a quantitative segmentation of young women into priority groups, complemented by qualitative findings that shed light on the drivers behind behaviors seen in the data. Finally, the paper identifies segment-specific and cross-cutting opportunities to deepen financial inclusion among young women and outlines the roles different ecosystem actors can play.
