Impact Of Mobile Money On Rural Maasai Women. A Case Study Of Narok County

Abstract

ABSTRACT The mobile phone sector in Kenya has grown tremendously over the years since the early 2000s. The growth has been more pronounced in the urban settings. Mobile technology in Kenya has shifted from the normal communication device to a tool that can be used to improve the ease of livelihoods of mobile holders. This is due to the various services that mobile providers have introduced into the market, with Kenya leading the world in M-pesa, a mobile banking platform that lets users send and receive money to other mobile phone users, pay bills and act as a saving account that bridging the gap in financial inclusivity for many Kenyans. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of mobile money services to rural Maasai women in Narok county. The study applied a descriptive research design where the target population was rural women in Narok county. The study was carried out in 8 locations within Narok county, with 40 respondents purposively selected to answer a structured questionnaire to shed light on the impact of mobile money services to the livelihoods of rural women in the Maasai community. From the study, it was inferred that mobile money has greatly impacted on the socio-economic livelihoods of the women. 90% of the women had or were using mobile money services to carry out their day to day activities from purchasing of goods and services, sending money to their dependents and contributing to social groups. This has also led to a change of roles in households whereby women can now make decisions that concern their households. The study recommends for further research on the uptake of other services that are provided by mobile money services providers apart from the sending and receiving of money.