IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v59y2022i3d10.1007_s11187-021-00562-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does mobile money enable women-owned businesses to invest? Firm-level evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Asif M. Islam

    (Middle East and North Africa Region Chief Economist Office (MNACE), World Bank Group)

  • Silvia Muzi

    (Development Economics, Enterprise Analysis Unit (DECEA), World Bank Group)

Abstract

This study connects two important findings in Sub-Saharan Africa. First, digital technologies such as mobile money have become widespread and have increased investment by businesses, especially in East Africa. Second, women-owned businesses in the region significantly lag behind their male counterparts in capital investments. Using data for 16 Sub-Saharan African economies, the study finds a positive relationship between mobile money use and investment by women-owned firms; the relationship is statistically insignificant for men-owned firms. This relationship is stronger for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises. Potential channels are explored. Women-owned firms that use mobile money to transact with suppliers are more likely to invest. Mobile money use is also associated with a greater provision of customer credit and generally greater demand for more credit by women-owned firms. Such patterns are not observed for men-owned firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Asif M. Islam & Silvia Muzi, 2022. "Does mobile money enable women-owned businesses to invest? Firm-level evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1245-1271, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:59:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-021-00562-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-021-00562-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-021-00562-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-021-00562-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2007. "Firms in International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 105-130, Summer.
    2. Clarke, George R.G. & Qiang, Christine Zhenwei & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2015. "The Internet as a general-purpose technology: Firm-level evidence from around the world," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 24-27.
    3. Van Biesebroeck, Johannes, 2005. "Firm Size Matters: Growth and Productivity Growth in African Manufacturing," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 545-583, April.
    4. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Leora Klapper & Dorothe Singer & Saniya Ansar & Jake Hess, 2020. "The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and Opportunities to Expand Access to and Use of Financial Services," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(Supplemen), pages 2-8.
    5. Asif Islam & Silvia Muzi & Jorge Luis Rodriguez Meza, 2018. "Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 687-708, October.
    6. Anna L. Paulson & Robert M. Townsend & Alexander Karaivanov, 2006. "Distinguishing Limited Liability from Moral Hazard in a Model of Entrepreneurship," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(1), pages 100-144, February.
    7. Reyes Aterido & Mary Hallward-Driemeier & Carmen Pagés, 2011. "Big Constraints to Small Firms' Growth? Business Environment and Employment Growth across Firms," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(3), pages 609-647.
    8. Timothy Besley & Hannes Mueller, 2018. "Predation, Protection, and Productivity: A Firm-Level Perspective," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 184-221, April.
    9. Rafael La Porta & Andrei Shleifer, 2014. "Informality and Development," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 109-126, Summer.
    10. Mohammad Amin & Asif Islam, 2014. "Are there more female managers in the retail sector? Evidence from survey data in developing countries," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 17, pages 213-228, November.
    11. Paunov, Caroline, 2016. "Corruption's asymmetric impacts on firm innovation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 216-231.
    12. Loayza,Norman V., 2018. "Informality : Why Is It So Widespread and How Can It Be Reduced?," Research and Policy Briefs 133110, The World Bank.
    13. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    14. Gatti, Roberta & Love, Inessa, 2006. "Does access to credit improve productivity ? Evidence from Bulgarian firms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3921, The World Bank.
    15. Tidiane Kinda & Patrick Plane & Marie‐Ange Véganzonès‐Varoudakis, 2015. "Does Investment Climate Matter for Firm's Technical Efficiency? An Application to Middle Eastern and North African Manufacturing," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1267-1293, October.
    16. Daniel Björkegren & Darrell Grissen, 0. "Behavior Revealed in Mobile Phone Usage Predicts Credit Repayment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 618-634.
    17. Munyegera, Ggombe Kasim & Matsumoto, Tomoya, 2016. "Mobile Money, Remittances, and Household Welfare: Panel Evidence from Rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 127-137.
    18. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2005. "Institutions, ownership, and finance: the determinants of profit reinvestment among Chinese firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 117-146, July.
    19. Nidhiya Menon, 2015. "Gender And Technology Use In Developing Countries: Evidence From Firms In Kenya," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 40(3), pages 105-140, September.
    20. Mike Burkart & Tore Ellingsen, 2004. "In-Kind Finance: A Theory of Trade Credit," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 569-590, June.
    21. Maria Guadalupe & Olga Kuzmina & Catherine Thomas, 2012. "Innovation and Foreign Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3594-3627, December.
    22. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    23. Simon Commander & Jan Svejnar, 2011. "Business Environment, Exports, Ownership, and Firm Performance," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 309-337, February.
    24. Chauvet, Lisa & Ehrhart, Hélène, 2018. "Aid and growth: evidence from firm-level data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 461-477.
    25. Renate Schubert, 1999. "Financial Decision-Making: Are Women Really More Risk-Averse?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 381-385, May.
    26. Richard Wright & Erdal Tekin & Volkan Topalli & Chandler McClellan & Timothy Dickinson & Richard Rosenfeld, 2017. "Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(2), pages 361-383.
    27. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    28. Henrik Hansen & John Rand, 2014. "The Myth of Female Credit Discrimination in African Manufacturing," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 81-96, January.
    29. World Bank, 2019. "World Development Report 2019 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2019]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 30435.
    30. Murat Şeker, 2012. "Importing, Exporting, and Innovation in Developing Countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 299-314, May.
    31. Greenwald, Bruce & Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1984. "Informational Imperfections in the Capital Market and Macroeconomic Fluctuations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 194-199, May.
    32. Aparna Gosavi, 2015. "The Next Frontier of Mobile Money Adoption," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 427-448, December.
    33. John Haltiwanger & Ron S. Jarmin & Javier Miranda, 2013. "Who Creates Jobs? Small versus Large versus Young," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 347-361, May.
    34. William Jack & Tavneet Suri, 2014. "Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs: Evidence from Kenya's Mobile Money Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 183-223, January.
    35. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    36. Jonas Hjort & Jonas Poulsen, 2019. "The Arrival of Fast Internet and Employment in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 1032-1079, March.
    37. Daniel Bjorkegren & Darrell Grissen, 2017. "Behavior Revealed in Mobile Phone Usage Predicts Loan Repayment," Papers 1712.05840, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2019.
    38. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2005. "Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 137-177, February.
    39. Beck, Thorsten & Pamuk, Haki & Ramrattan, Ravindra & Uras, Burak R., 2018. "Payment instruments, finance and development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 162-186.
    40. Jenny C. Aker & Isaac M. Mbiti, 2010. "Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 207-232, Summer.
    41. Batista, Catia & Vicente, Pedro C., 2020. "Improving access to savings through mobile money: Experimental evidence from African smallholder farmers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    42. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Occhiali, Giovanni & Strobl, Eric, 2018. "Power outages and firm performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 150-159.
    43. Sophia Dimelis & Helen Louri, 2002. "Foreign ownership and production efficiency: a quantile regression analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 449-469, July.
    44. John McMillan & Christopher Woodruff, 2002. "The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 153-170, Summer.
    45. Falciola, Justine & Jansen, Marion & Rollo, Valentina, 2020. "Defining firm competitiveness: A multidimensional framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    46. MARIANA Viollaz & Hernan Winkler, 2022. "Does the Internet Reduce Gender Gaps? The Case of Jordan," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 436-453, March.
    47. Roberta Gatti & Inessa Love, 2008. "Does access to credit improve productivity? Evidence from Bulgaria1," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 16(3), pages 445-465, July.
    48. Kadapakkam, Palani-Rajan & Kumar, P. C. & Riddick, Leigh A., 1998. "The impact of cash flows and firm size on investment: The international evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 293-320, March.
    49. Aparna Gosavi, 2018. "Can Mobile Money Help Firms Mitigate the Problem of Access to Finance in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa?," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 343-360, July.
    50. Arne Bigsten & Mulu Gebreeyesus, 2007. "The Small, the Young, and the Productive: Determinants of Manufacturing Firm Growth in Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(4), pages 813-840, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2023. "Economic sectors and globalization channels to gender economic inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/020, African Governance and Development Institute..
    2. Osabutey, Ellis L.C. & Jackson, Terence, 2024. "Mobile money and financial inclusion in Africa: Emerging themes, challenges and policy implications," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Islam,Asif Mohammed & Muzi,Silvia, 2020. "Mobile Money and Investment by Women Businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9338, The World Bank.
    2. Asif Islam & Silvia Muzi & Jorge Luis Rodriguez Meza, 2018. "Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 687-708, October.
    3. Silvia Muzi & Filip Jolevski & Kohei Ueda & Domenico Viganola, 2023. "Productivity and firm exit during the COVID-19 crisis: cross-country evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1719-1760, April.
    4. Hyland,Marie Caitriona & Islam,Asif Mohammed, 2021. "Gendered Laws, Informal Origins, and Subsequent Performance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9766, The World Bank.
    5. Ablam Estel Apeti & Jean-Louis Combes & Eyah Denise Edoh, 2023. "Entrepreneurship in developing countries: can mobile money play a role?," Working Papers hal-04081304, HAL.
    6. Joël Cariolle & David A Carroll, 2020. "Digital Technologies for Small and Medium Enterprises and job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers hal-03004583, HAL.
    7. Beck, Thorsten & Pamuk, Haki & Ramrattan, Ravindra & Uras, Burak R., 2018. "Payment instruments, finance and development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 162-186.
    8. Maty Konte & Godsway Korku Tetteh, 2023. "Mobile money, traditional financial services and firm productivity in Africa," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 745-769, February.
    9. Islam, Asif & Hyland, Marie, 2019. "The drivers and impacts of water infrastructure reliability – a global analysis of manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 143-157.
    10. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin & Zhu, Tian, 2009. "Formal finance and trade credit during China's transition," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 173-192, April.
    11. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Roberto Ganau & Kristina Maslauskaite & Monica Brezzi, 2021. "Credit constraints, labor productivity, and the role of regional institutions: Evidence from manufacturing firms in Europe," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 299-328, March.
    12. Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher Green & Fei Jiang, 2020. "Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion And Development: A Review With Reference To African Experience," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 753-792, September.
    13. Galinato, Gregmar I. & Hyland, Marie & Islam, Asif M., 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility benefit society? Evidence from Latin America," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Nurullah Gur, 2012. "Financial Constraints, Quality of Institutions and Firm Size: What Do Perceptions Tell Us?," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 2(2), pages 17-36, December.
    15. Figueroa, Camila & Iberti, Gonzalo & Riutort, Julio & Wagner, Rodrigo, 2023. "Do firms that state they are financially constrained tend to reinvest more of their profits?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Şeker, Murat & Yang, Judy S., 2014. "Bribery solicitations and firm performance in the Latin America and Caribbean region," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 246-264.
    17. Gregory Mvogo & Christèle Gladisse Awounang Djouaka, 2022. "Effet du mobile money sur la résilience des ménages exerçant des activités génératrices de revenus au Cameroun," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(4), pages 459-471, December.
    18. Luc Jacolin & Massil Keneck & Alphonse Noah, 2019. "Informal Sector and Mobile Financial Services in Developing Countries: Does Financial Innovation Matter?," Working papers 721, Banque de France.
    19. Nirosha Hewa Wellalage & Stuart Locke & Helen Samujh, 2020. "Firm bribery and credit access: evidence from Indian SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 283-304, June.
    20. Myint Moe Chit, 2018. "Political openness and the growth of small and medium enterprises: empirical evidence from transition economies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 781-804, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:59:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-021-00562-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.