Report
Unlocking financial inclusion for refugee women in Uganda and Kenya
A market system analysis of barriers and enablers
- Published by
- iGravity and Impact-Linked Finance Fund
This research report applies a market systems development framework to examine why refugee women in Kenya and Uganda remain excluded from formal financial services despite generating 85 to 90 per cent of their income in the informal economy.
Drawing on interviews with refugee women, financial service providers and humanitarian actors, it maps systemic constraints across individual, community and policy levels, and compares Kenya's advanced digital infrastructure against Uganda's more progressive refugee policy environment.
The report identifies four root causes of exclusion:
- infrastructural gaps
- capability constraints
- gendered power dynamics
- weak institutional coordination
It sets out five fintech leverage points, including tiered Know-Your-Customer (KYC) solutions, savings group digitisation, cross-border wallets, risk-sharing facilities and women-centred digital literacy programmes.
It closes with seven sequenced recommendations spanning short, medium and long-term horizons, and includes case studies of an IFC-Equity Bank risk-sharing facility and a refugee-founded fintech in Uganda.