How do they use their phones?
Women use their phones to stay connected, manage financial transactions, consume entertainment, express themselves, and access information for everyday needs. Patterns of use are shaped by relevance, familiarity, and the constraints of their social and material contexts.
Mobile Ownership (DHS-8 2022)
100%Smartphone Ownership
96%Uses Mobile for Financial Transactions
99%
Reach and Connection
Uses WhatsApp for everyday communication across personal and business needs, as well as church and school-related networks. Also uses Facebook to maintain and expand her social connections.
Entertainment and Stress Relief
Actively engages on platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook by posting and interacting with content. May also download content for children.
Learning and Growth
Actively uses platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok to search for information (e.g., health information for new mothers). May stay updated with national or local news through social media or other online media.
Transactions and Financial Security
Likely a confident M-Pesa user and uses it actively for day-to-day requirements. May use additional apps such as NHIF to access insurance or manage health-related funds.
Self Promotion and Expression
Actively shares and posts content on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok for both business needs and personal expression.
Tracking
May use specific apps or services for health and financial tracking.
How do they get access to their phones?
Access to phones is often mediated through family and social networks, with devices acquired, shared, or supported through these relationships. Patterns of ownership, control, and continuity vary across geographies and reflect broader gendered and economic conditions.
Is in the Top 40% by Household Wealth Nationally
98%Partner Works in a Professional or Managerial Role
37%Has Year Long Employment or Livelihood Activity
57%
Access to Device and Consumables
Likely to have had early access to shared devices as children with independent access as they became older. May receive phones tied to educational milestones. Sometimes phones are purchased and viewed as a source of pride.
Very likely to independently own smartphones as adults.
How do they learn how to use their phones?
Women build digital capability over time through a combination of early exposure, literacy, and support from others. Facilitators, such as family members, peers, or intermediaries often play a role in shaping how skills are developed and how confidence is built.
Can Read Full Sentences
96%Cannot Read at All
1%Has Secondary and Above Education
76%
Base Capabilities
Early facilitation from parents, siblings, or peers may have supported familiarity and confidence. This combined with high education levels likely means that they are well positioned for advanced digital use.
Learning Style
May be considered a digital native due to early exposure. Learns through observation, one-off nudges, and independent exploration of advanced uses.
Learning Needs
Likely fully independent in performing basic to intermediate digital tasks. May seek support for advanced apps, services, or content-based tasks. Occasional encouragement from influential figures in her network may help unlock new uses.
Facilitators
Benefits from a wide group of facilitators, including family and peers in early years, with peer facilitation becoming more prominent over time.
What are the challenges they navigate?
Women navigate interruptions in access, limitations in resources, and a range of digital risks. Their use of phones is shaped by social expectations and relationship dynamics, which influence when, how, and how freely they are able to stay connected.
Has Internalised Domestic Violence
23%Participates in Household Decision Making
81%Household has Electricity
96%
Disruptions caused by Financial Shocks, Damage, Degradation and Loss
Where phones are central to work or social support networks, disruptions may be significant and are often addressed quickly due to their functional importance.
In cases where the phone is used primarily for companionship or access to supportive online communities, disruptions may also be significant and can affect emotional wellbeing or perceived quality of life.
Access to broader social networks may help mitigate gaps through borrowing or temporary downgrades, though such shifts can reduce functionality and continuity of use.
Managing Recurring Costs (data, airtime etc.)
Smartphone access may be facilitated through MKOPA or similar repayment plans. Devices may sometimes be prioritised for children’s education but shared within the household. Repayment cycles may require ongoing financial management, and missed payments can result in temporary device locking.
Actively managing data costs may be an ongoing challenge. She may look for opportunities to access free or lower-cost Wi-Fi to reduce expenses.
Charging Cycles
Likely to have relatively stable access to electricity at home.
Perception of Risk
Aware of a range of digital threats, including account hacking and broader privacy risks that extend beyond financial transactions.
Response to Digital Risk
May take proactive measures such as using passwords and privacy controls, while continuing digital engagement with confidence.