Empowerment Program Strategies and Financial Inclusion of Women in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2025-12
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Women in Nairobi County’s informal settlements continue to face persistent inequalities in accessing and benefiting from formal financial services. Despite the presence of mobile money innovations and empowerment initiatives, most women in these areas remain excluded from mainstream financial systems, limiting their economic opportunities and resilience. This study examined the effect of empowerment program strategies on the financial inclusion of women in informal settlements within Nairobi County. The aim was to determine how financial services access, financial literacy training, vocational skills development, and social empowerment influence women’s participation in formal financial systems. The study was grounded in Financial Intermediation Theory, Empowerment Theory, and Social Capital Theory. The target population comprised adult women residing in the eighteen villages of Kibera Constituency who were eligible to participate in empowerment programmes such as financial literacy training, vocational skills development, and microfinance initiatives. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted, and a sample size of 397 respondents was selected through stratified random sampling to ensure adequate representation. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression modeling. The study established that financial services access, financial literacy training, vocational skills development, and social empowerment all positively influence women’s financial inclusion in Kibera. Access to formal financial products strengthens financial participation, financial literacy enhances decision-making capability, vocational skills expand income opportunities, and social empowerment builds confidence and autonomy in financial engagement. The study concludes that integrated empowerment strategies are necessary to improve women’s financial participation in informal settlements. It recommends improving access to affordable financial services, expanding continuous financial literacy programmes, strengthening market-linked vocational training, and enhancing social empowerment initiatives to promote sustainable financial inclusion and economic independence among women in Nairobi’s informal urban settings.
Description
A Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Public Policy and Administration of Kenyatta University, December 2025.
Supervisor
1. Benjamin Kimolo