Does Mobile Money Use Increase Firms' Investment? : Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania

Islam, Asif ; Muzi, Silvia ; Rodriguez Meza, Jorge Luis

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: mobile money;    financial development;    investment;    firms;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7890
RP-ID  :  WPS7890

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Private investment can be an importantengine of economic growth in East African countries, which,despite recent growth rates, are still plagued with adverseeconomic conditions. Against this backdrop, there has beensubstantial penetration of mobile money, moving beyondsimple person-to-person exchanges toward adoption by privatefirms. This study explores whether there is a relationshipbetween firm adoption of mobile money and firm investment.Using firm-level data that are nationally representative ofthe private sector in three East African countries -- Kenya,Tanzania, and Uganda -- a positive relationship is foundbetween mobile money use and the probability of a firm’spurchase of fixed assets. This relationship is attributed toreduced transaction costs, increased liquidity, andincreased credit worthiness associated with the use ofmobile phone financial services.