Influence of Mobile Money on Control of Productive Resources among Women Micro Entrepreneurs Participating in Table Banking in Nakuru, Kenya

IMTFI Researchers Milcah Mulu-Mutuku and Castro Ngumbu Gichuki's Final Report is available now on the ways that mobile money technology is contributing to women micro entrepreneurs' business strategies and control over productive resources in Kenya.

Dissemination workshop with women micro entrepreneurs
 and mobile money service providers in Nakuru town, Kenya

Report abstract
With mobile money technology being adopted, financial inclusion especially with regard to women and less educated is becoming a reality. In Kenya the high rate of adoption of this technology has resulted in more mobile money accounts than bank accounts. In this study we sought to determine whether mobile money usage influences control of productive resources among women micro entrepreneurs participating in table banking. The Government of the Republic of Kenya has been encouraging female entrepreneurship as one strategy of propelling the nation to the status of a newly industrialized country able to offer comfortable life to her citizens. Success in entrepreneurship is linked to control of productive resources yet this is a gendered aspect that favors men in much of the developing world. It is therefore imperative to document how women control these resources in the business context. A mixed data collection approach was adopted comprising a questionnaire administered to 392 respondents, two object-centered focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with ten respondents. Questionnaire data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages and correlation coefficient while the rest were analyzed qualitatively. 

Important findings related to gender, discretion and control of resources
Mobile money technology has enabled women micro-entrepreneurs to control productive resources and especially business money. Results indicate that use of mobile money services influenced control of resources, especially those services that are easily integrated into existing social and business arrangements. Further investigations revealed that mobile money services have provided discreet methods of keeping business financial transactions shielded from husbands’ interferences. Interestingly, there was low usage of micro-savings and micro-credit services for table banking activities. Consequently, mobile micro-credit services had no significant relationship with control of productive resources. Qualitative data indicated that men are joining ‘women-only’ groups and are contributing new ideas and perspectives leading to investments in areas that are not traditionally for women.

Read their full report here

Their blog post on object-centered focus group discussions as a methodology to generate conversations with women micro entrepreneurs about their mobile money practices can be accessed here

“When I make sales, I want to sit and count my money at the end of the day”: Low Adoption of Digital Payment Platforms among SMEs in Ghana

by IMTFI Fellows Clement Adamba, Onallia Esther Osei, and Rebecca Sarku

"There is power and some good feeling in holding cash"

Introduction
Ghana’s informal economy is dominated by small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) whose huge contribution to the economy is widely acknowledged. SMEs are, however, characterized by limited application of technological innovation that could enhance business financial transactions. Current non-cash payment platforms in Ghana include switch and card, primarily operated by e-zwich, gh-linkTM; mobile or wallet money operated by big mobile telecommunication companies such as MTN, Airtel, Tigo, and Vodafone networks. There is also real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), a funds transfer system where the transfer of money or securities takes place from one bank to another on a "real time" and on a "gross" basis.

Mobile Money Vendor
Accra Central Business District

There are a limited number of SMEs using digital financial platforms for transactions despite efforts to encourage adoption and utilisation. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has attributed the low adoption of digital payment platforms to high illiteracy and ignorance about the relevance of non-cash payment systems (BoG, 2014). In our recent study, we found that, indeed some operators of SMEs in Ghana have adopted some form of digital financial payment for personal and business transactions. Our study also confirmed that illiteracy and lack of knowledge about digital money are the two predominant factors that affect adoption and utilisation of available digital payment platforms. However, we found two other reasons that will require more than literacy to encourage patronage among SMEs in Ghana – the high value of cash and low feelings of trust.

In the remainder of this blog post we highlight some of people’s perceptions about the value or power of holding physical cash over digital money and the issue of trust expressed in the reliability of the system and its operators.


“I want to count my money…….”
There is the feeling among some SME operators that counting cash at the end of a day’s business is an indication of a good day. One is able to determine physically whether or not the day’s transaction has been good or bad. More importantly, holding money and counting it at the close of the day enhances one’s self-image and gives a positive self-feeling. In the expression of one lady in Makola, Ghana’s busiest market in the capital city of Accra, the power associated with the holding of cash supersedes digital money. The feeling of having cash in hand arouses a greater sense of liquidity, power and feeling.

Inside the Makola Annex Market

“When I make my sales, at the end of the day, I want to sit down and count the money. Then, my self-esteem is enhanced. And then I also feel that I am working. But if the money is on a machine like the mobile thing we are talking about, it doesn’t make sense to me. There is power and some good feeling in holding cash [more] than there is with numbers on your phone or on a card.” (A 28-year-old female make-up kit trader in a focus group discussion in Makola, 24/3/2016).

This expression resonated among most of the participants in our study, who immediately concurred with this sentiment. In cases where people have received a mobile money transfer for example, they will immediately go and withdraw the cash.


The other problem is trust
Negative experiences of some adopters with digital payment platforms have led them to lose trust in the system, which has provided added impetus for many to completely stay away from adoption and use of digital payment platforms such as mobile money transfer services:

Adawso Roadside Market

“When I went to a vendor one time to withdraw a customer’s payment for goods that she transferred into my mobile money account, I was asked to bring my code. And I was afraid that once I tell the agent about my code, they may steal my money. Meanwhile I don’t know how to operate my phone. So as soon as I gave my code out, I withdrew everything from my account. This is because my cousin said she left GHC 200 in her account but when she went to withdraw her money, she was told that she did not have anything in it. It means that either her agent or someone took note of her code and then withdrew her money. So I prefer to have my money in cash. I know where to hide the money and not even a rat could notice it in my room. [This is better] than this code and secret number things they are talking about as a form of security for my money” (A 40-year-old fishmonger in Adawso market, 18/03/2016)

However, the distrust of the mobile money system could often be linked to misunderstandings of how the system works. For instance, some SME operators expressed concerns as to why one had to pay for registration fees and charges for transfer and withdrawal of money from mobile money vendors. Others expressed concerns about the need to pay charges for some of the most basic services. These concerns suggested that the SME operators feel exploited with fees or charges; eliciting their fear that mobile money service providers are cheating them instead of helping them with their businesses. But mobile money service agents and some platform service providers have noted that what subscribers call registration fee is actually an initial deposit for the wallet, just as it would be the case in starting a savings account with a bank.


Acknowledgement of some positives with digital financial service platforms
Notwithstanding the concerns of some SME operators about the challenges and the fact that there is the need for one to count his/her cash at the end of day, some SME operators do acknowledge some positive aspects associated with utilising a digital platform service.

mobile money advertisement in Ghana

For example, it is safe and reduces the risks of theft or robbery associated with travelling over long distances with physical money. For example, a female trader indicated that:

 “I don’t carry cash in my bag these days. At first when I travel to buy goods, we are usually attacked by armed robbers but with the mobile money technology, I usually transfer all my cash onto my mobile money wallet and then when I get to my destination, I withdraw it into physical cash to transact business. And so, even if we are attacked by robbers, they can only take my mobile phone and only a small amount of money away. Even if I lose my mobile phone, I still have my money because the code is with me” (A 32-year-old female cosmetic trader in Makola, 06/04/2016).

Another trader noted that keeping money in a mobile wallet helps to avert impulse spending:

“The benefit of keeping my money in my mobile money wallet is that when they pay me cash, it is likely that I may do an impulse buying but if the money is in my wallet it will be very difficult for me to go withdraw it. I hardly get time and if I will have to join a queue very often to withdraw money, then I will prefer that the money remains in the wallet. So it is more or less like a bank savings for me” (A 27-year-old female trader in Makola, 06/04/2016).

Conclusion
Digital payment platform designers and service providers have an obligation to educate potential users of the digital payment platforms on the suite of services that they provide.

Field Interview, Ga-Mashie

They need to spend more time on public media to educate people about the operations or workings of the digital platforms and how even illiterate users can operate these effectively without relying on any second party for support. Improved education outreach can also serve as a catalyst in reducing fears about security and the safety of wallets. Specifically, user-centered education can help people understand how to access money in their wallet as well as operate and utilize all the available packages on the platform such as buying airtime and paying bills through the mobile wallet. Platform providers need to do more to allay subscribers’ fears of risk and losing money through theft, including by agents.

Read their final report here

Object-Centered Focus Group Discussions: Stimulating Conversations On Mobile Money Practices and Culture

By IMTFI Researchers Milcah Mulu-Mutuku (Egerton University, Kenya) and Castro Ngumbu Gichuki (Nanjing Agricultural University, China)

Conversations on personal financial practices are sensitive and many times difficult for researchers to actualize in the field. As many researchers have documented, personal financial practices are private. Getting people to talk about them often times requires great effort. Adding culture to these conversations creates a further challenge that seems almost insurmountable. Yet, even with all of these challenges, it is essential to understand how culture influences mobile money practices if appropriate policies and programs are to be put in place.

Participants during the Focus Group Discussion

Our IMTFI sponsored research involves determining the influence of mobile money on women micro-entrepreneurs’ control of productive resources. In many communities in the developing world, control of productive resources is a subject deeply entrenched in cultural practices rooted in money and land as the preserve of men. As we are realizing through our research, control also depends on the context of resource use. In this era of technological advancements, a slight change in external factors surrounding productive resources alters significantly the way control of these resources is experienced by those involved. For example, the use of mobile money significantly impacts the dynamics of resource control. However, this depends largely on the type of resource (e.g. money, land, information) under consideration and the importance attached to it by the people concerned. Money is probably the most highly rated productive resource in terms of its importance by our target group of women micro-entrepreneurs. How this resource is controlled and managed has a direct impact on their business performance.


Stimulating conversations on money, control and culture

To get women micro-entrepreneurs conversing on these matters, we designed two charts: a static one (Fig. 1) which we used to prompt participants to think through their financial practices (without intervention on our part) and an interactive one (Fig. 3) which required participants to perform some activities. Our approach was inspired by the IMTFI Fellows workshop held at the IMTFI Insight and Impact Conference on April 22, 2016 and by object-centered interview methodologies featured in IMTFI’s Consumer Finance Research Methods Toolkit (the toolkit is free and available for download here).

Fig 1: Mobile Money Services Chart

The Mobile Money Services Chart (Fig. 1) aimed to stimulate conversations on mobile money services utilization at personal, family and business levels. The participants were expected to view a representation of a mobile money service or product on the chart and then rate the usage of these services and products. We then used a flip chart to record the responses (Fig. 2). Using this chart, we explored the benefits and challenges of using these services as experienced by the participants. The main benefits of services frequently used included autonomy and time saving while major challenges to uptake and use were interference with family relations due to practices of secrecy and disclosure related to the personal identification number (PIN). 

Fig 2: "Services used and
not used"

The Productive Resources Control Chart (Fig. 3) aided us in discussing women micro-entrepreneurs’ control over productive resources and the influence of mobile money services on control and decision-making processes. Participants were asked to place color-coded sticky notes or plasticine (modeling clay) next to the person who makes decisions about the acquisition, management, and use of various productive resources. Choices included self, husband, brother/father, and friend(s).  

After the exercise, we counted the sticky notes or plasticine mounds to determine who had the highest control of a particular resource, which we then discussed with participants. We also discussed how mobile money has influenced this control and explored gender dynamics in table banking group activities in this era of mobile money use. Interestingly, fathers and brothers no longer interfere with women’s control of productive resources, whether single or married. In addition, mobile money services have provided women with a discreet method of controlling finances.

Fig 3: Productive Resources Control Chart

Our experience in using Object-Centered Focus Group Discussions

This being our first time to use such a technique in data collection, we did not know what to expect. Much as the idea of using objects in Focus Group Discussions excited us, and of course we were looking forward to it, we were alive to the possibility that our ability to communicate to the participants through these charts might not work as we hoped. However, our anxieties were immediately settled as soon as we began the first session and observed the respondents’ excitement. Discussions were lively, diverse, engaging and quite informative. This came as a surprise to us because we did not realize beforehand that visualizing mobile money services would trigger such diverse thoughts in the minds of the participants and therefore diverse conversations. One chairlady of a table banking group summed up her experience in the discussions, remarking, “na leo mmetuchangamsha kweli kweli! Tumejifunza mambo mengi leo!” (You have really excited us today! We have learnt many things today).

Mobile Money Services Chart in use

Much as we intended to collect data for our research, we also ended up raising awareness about available mobile money services. Participants discussed some mobile money services depicted in the first chart that they never thought were meant for them. One lady pointed at the Pesa Point ATM booth image and remarked, “hii huwa naiona town kila wakati ni kienda lakini sijawahijua inaweza kunisaidia”! (I always see this one every time I’m in town but I have never known it can assist me). Such remarks opened our eyes to the role of such data collection techniques in educating participants on matters otherwise taken for granted, and in creating awareness about services and products.

This experience was exciting and enriching for both researchers and respondents. Within the context of the activities, it was easy for respondents to talk about their personal financial practices and provide information, which under normal circumstances might be difficult to share. For instance, one participant shared with participants about her secret business money saving practices. In order to avoid interference and misuse of business money, she “hides” it in an M-Shwari Deposit Account, a paperless micro-savings product (offered by Safaricom in partnership with Commercial Bank of Africa and operated through M-Pesa). She reasoned that it is easy for her husband to track her savings on her M-Pesa Account but not so easy with her M-Shwari Deposit Account. This way, she is able to control her business finances without interference. However, she has never used the M-Shwari micro-credit product. She finances her business activities through her table banking group and through other micro-finance institutions such as Small and Micro-Enterprise Program (SMEP).

Productive Resources Control Chart in use

Almost all participants indicated they do not use the M-Shwari micro-credit product to finance business activities in spite of the favorable facility fee (compared with micro-finance institutions’ interest rates). Participants gave two major reasons for not utilizing this service. One, the amount of credit that can be accessed through M-Shwari depends on points earned through the usage of a M-Shwari Deposit Account, M-Pesa and other Safaricom services. These being the ‘base of the pyramid’ customers, earning points that would guarantee a sizeable amount of credit does not come easy. Much of the time, the amount of credit they can access through this service is too little for their business needs. Two, though the service providers have ensured that information on terms and conditions of use for the M-Shwari micro-credit product is in the public domain, participants reported lack of information about the product, making them apprehensive of the service. Many participants expressed a desire to understand how Safaricom calculates the points that determine the amount of credit they can access through the M-Shwari micro-credit product.


Concluding remarks

All in all, our experience in using Object-Centered Focus Group Discussions taught us that this is an excellent way of collecting data on sensitive topics. However, researchers must be alert and sensitive to remarks coming from the participants, which can be probed to yield more information and reveal unexpected details. In addition, depending on the topic of discussion, researchers need to be careful not to be sidetracked by the excitement of participants as they discuss their own subjects triggered by the images and writings on the charts.

Read Milcah Mulu-Mutuku and Castro Ngumbu Gichuki's final report here

If you would like to leave feedback about this blog post and the Consumer Finance Research Methods Toolkit, see here.

References
Erin B. Taylor and Gawain Lynch, with Ursula Dalinghaus (2016). Consumer Finance Research Methods Toolkit. IMTFI. http://www.imtfi.uci.edu/files/consumer_finance_research_methods_project/IMTFI%20Consumer%20Finance%20Research%20Methods%20Toolkit_beta%20version_Reduced%20size.pdf