Digital Financial Services and Livelihoods Among Smallholder Women Farmers in East Africa: A Study of Democratic Republic of Congo

Digital financial services have emerged as a critical tool for enhancing economic inclusion in East Africa, particularly among smallholder women farmers. A mixed-method approach combining quantitative survey data and qualitative interviews with a sample size of 150 women farmers was employed. Digital financial service adoption by women farmers has increased their income by an average of 24% compared to non-users, though this varies significantly by region (p < 0.05). The study highlights the need for tailored digital financial services and supportive policies to maximise benefits for DRC’s smallholder women farmers. Policy makers should implement gender-sensitive digital financial products and ensure widespread access to these services in rural areas of DRC. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.