The effect of financial literacy, innovation and attitude on financial inclusion of women-owned SMEs in Uganda: Evidence from Kampala District

Abstract

This research was aimed at the effect of financial literacy, innovation and attitude on the financial inclusion of women-owned SMEs in Uganda; to identify the influence of financial literacy on the financial inclusion of women-owned SMEs in the Kampala District, to investigate the effect of financial innovation on the financial inclusion of women-owned SMEs in the Kampala District and to find out the relationship between financial attitude and financial inclusion of women-owned SMEs in the Kampala District. The study was conducted in Kampala District and it employed a cross-sectional survey research design with data collected from 188 respondents out of a sample of 204 women-owned SMEs. The study revealed that financial literacy, financial attitude and financial innovation were positively and significantly correlated to financial inclusion among women-owned SMEs in Kampala District. The study, therefore, recommended that government should increase financial inclusion levels by allocating additional resources to strengthen their regulatory and institutional frameworks that facilitate access to the financial system, develop policies that foster the growth of private banks and their expansion into new markets and reward mobile technology firms for expanding their services to remote and impoverished areas as a means of promoting much-needed financial inclusion and boosting economic activity.