Uganda women abroad sending more money

Mar 08, 2019

According to the data, the proportion of females sending digital money transfers to Uganda via WorldRemit has grown to 5% within the last five years.

New data from an online money remittance service WorldRemit and MTN shows that Uganda has a higher proportion of female remittance senders than the global average.

Ugandans living abroad sent home over $893 million in 2018, accounting for almost 5% of the country's GDP.

According to the data, the proportion of females sending digital money transfers to Uganda via WorldRemit has grown  to 5% within the last five years.

40% of WorldRemit's customers sending to Uganda are female, compared to 35% in 2014. Mobile-to-mobile remittances (transfers sent to mobile accounts via web or app) account for 80% of remittances sent by women.

As remittances continue to grow, women are making an increasing contribution to the country's development.

The gender gap for sending digital remittances to Uganda is rapidly closing driven by mobile-to-mobile remittances.

Ivan Kanyali, the Country Manager for Uganda at WorldRemit observes that ensuring digital inclusion for financial services for women on both the send and receive side is critically important, because when women thrive, families, businesses and local economies thrive too.

 "Our data shows that women play an increasingly vital role in Uganda's development by sending money home to support education, cover healthcare costs, make investments, and more. At WorldRemit, we are committed to simplifying that process, and making it faster, cheaper and easier to send and receive remittances." Noted Kanyali.

Of the two-million Ugandan in diaspora, 39% of Ugandan migrants are female, with the majority living in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States. Despite earning less than men. Evidence shows that, female migrants send a higher proportion of their income home more frequently than men.

As the world celebrates International Women's day, WorldRemit is offering new customers zero fees on their first transfer to Uganda if they use the code IWD when making payment.

Richard Muriithi, the Head of Remittances MTN Group, noted that Women, starting from the family unit are the key partners in attaining financial freedom and Economic Development.

"By facilitating an efficient, cost effective and reliable remittance channel, MTN in partnership with WorldRemit has empowered women to create change, shape the future and achieve equality all the while enabling improved living standards, better social well- being and increased productivity in the community." Said Muriithi.

Digital money transfer companies are improving women's access to remittances and helping their money go further. WorldRemit enables the Ugandan diaspora to send money home in a few taps from their phones without having the travel to an agent, lowering costs and increasing speed and convenience.

The gender gap between male and female WorldRemit customers sending to Uganda between 2014 and 2018 has narrowed by 10%. WorldRemit customers complete over 1.3 million transfers every month from over 50 countries to over 145 destinations.

 

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