'Taking the bank to the youth' Determinants of utilization of formal financial services among the youth: a case study of Kawempe Division

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate determinants that affect utilization of formal financial services among the youth a case study of Kawempe Division. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed to achieve the research objective. Emphasis was put on trying to establish the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic factors which included Education level, Gender, Age, Income, and Employment status, as well as Knowledge and attitude towards formal financial services. The validity and reliability of the research instrument (questionnaire) was established and data was collected from 109 respondents selected randomly from youths living in Kawempe Division. The analysis of this data was done in three stages; the first stage involved univariate analysis using descriptive statistics such as mean, minimum, and maximum, the second stage involved bivariate analysis using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient to establish the nature of the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables, and finally the third stage of analysis involved multiple regression analysis using Multivariate probit regression. This altogether formed the basis of the findings, conclusions and recommendations for this study. According to the findings of this study, respondents who had utilized Banking services in the last 30 days were 16.51% while those who had utilized Real estate financial services in the last 30 days were 29.36%. Respondents who had utilized Payment services in the last 30 days were 22.02% while those who had utilized Mortgages in the last 30 days were 12.84%. Respondents who had utilized Investment fund financial services in the last 30 days were 8.26% while those who had utilized Brokerage financial services in the last 30 days were 11.01%. The study offers the following recommendations; Firstly, since the youth are a rapidly growing percentage of the Sub-Saharan African population, and many are economically vulnerable, longitudinal studies could track whether early access to formal financial services translates into utilization of formal financial services later in the youth’s lives. Secondly, to ensure that the conducted research has a social, economic, and political impact, continuous engagement of stakeholders to disseminate information for policy making is important to address unanswered questions in financial inclusion for youth.