Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSD), brought together banks, mobile money companies, policymakers, donors, and development partners earlier this week for a major workshop.
The meeting shared findings from the first year of its Young Women’s Financial Inclusion initiative, a three-year research programme focused on Uganda’s 4.5 million women aged 16 to 24. That’s nearly 10% of the country’s population. The theme was “From Research to Action: Deepening Financial Inclusion for Young Women in Uganda,” and the goal now is to move from data to real solutions.
Joseph Lutwama, FSD Uganda’s Director of Research and Insights, opened the findings by pointing out a blind spot in past efforts. Most financial inclusion work has targeted women in general, but the specific problems young women face have been ignored.
“We have made strides as a country, but the evidence tells us that young women have largely been left behind,” he said.
Uganda has made progress overall. Formal financial inclusion rose from 52% to 68% between 2013 and 2023, driven mainly by mobile money. But the gap between men and women has actually grown wider.
In 2018 the difference was just 1 percentage point. By 2023 it had jumped to 6 percentage points. Young women are still among the least served by banks, SACCOs, and mobile money.
The research shows clear differences. Only 53% of young women own a mobile phone compared to 71% of young men. Just 8% of young women use bank accounts versus 13% of young men.
For SACCOs, the gap is even bigger at 4% for young women and 14% for young men. Registered mobile money use also shows a 10-point gap that has not changed since 2013.
On top of that, young women shoulder much more unpaid care work. They average 5.2 hours a day compared to 1.6 hours for young men, and that limits the jobs they can take and the time they have to use financial services.
Lutwama said one of the biggest structural barriers is the national ID. Banks and mobile money agents require it, but many young women still do not have one.
He praised the National Identification and Registration Authority for registering most Ugandans, but said the next step is helping young women understand and use the ID to access services.
The research also breaks young women into five groups based on how they use money. The largest group, about a third, already use both formal and informal services like banks and savings groups. They are the most active but still need help saving more, borrowing safely, and managing risk.
Another 28% use only formal services, mostly mobile money in their own names. They could move into credit and insurance if banks became easier to access. About 20% use only formal services but through someone else’s account, usually unregistered mobile money. They need support to open their own accounts and build a transaction history.
A small group of 5% rely only on informal savings groups. Most live in rural areas, have few phones, but save well in their communities. They need solutions that build trust and introduce digital tools gently. The last 14% are completely unserved. They are younger, have few phones or IDs, and depend heavily on others. For them, financial services must come after basic livelihood support.
Together, those four less-served groups make up two-thirds of all young women aged 16 to 24. That shows both the size of the problem and the size of the opportunity for banks and fintechs.
From the findings, FSD Uganda’s team outlined five priority actions. First, fix the basics by getting more young women their own phones and national IDs. Second, encourage a shift from unregistered to registered mobile money while keeping their transaction history.
Third, connect financial services to income, so that when young women earn more they naturally start saving, borrowing, and buying insurance. Fourth, design savings and insurance products that protect against health and school costs, since those are the biggest shocks for young women. Fifth, build trust and financial skills, especially in rural areas where informal groups dominate.
Lutwama also flagged confidence as a problem. Social norms have long discouraged young women from dealing with banks on their own. FSD Uganda is urging financial providers to create affordable products for young women and to work with communities to change attitudes at the local level.
Year one was about research. Year two will be about action. FSD Uganda plans to partner with financial service providers to design, test, and launch products for the four less-served groups.
The programme will also work with regulators to push for reforms that make innovation easier. The hope is that these findings will shape new policies and products that finally bring Uganda’s young women fully into the financial system.
