Analysis of Gender Dimensions of Digital Financial Services Adoption in North West Nigeria

Digital financial services (DFS) offer significant potential for advancing women's financial inclusion in Nigeria, yet adoption patterns are deeply gendered, with women in the North West zone demonstrating the lowest uptake rates nationally. This study analyses the gender dimensions of digital financial services adoption in North West Nigeria, focusing on mobile money, digital banking, and agent banking in Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi States. A quantitative survey design was adopted, with 140 respondents, equally divided by gender, drawn from urban and peri-urban communities. Structured questionnaires assessed digital financial service awareness, usage frequency, adoption barriers, and trust perceptions. Data were analysed using logistic regression, chi-square tests, and descriptive statistics. Findings reveal that women's DFS adoption rates are 34 percentage points lower than men in the sample, driven primarily by lower mobile phone ownership, limited digital literacy, cultural restrictions on women's independent financial transactions, and distrust of digital platforms. Women who receive digital literacy training and have social network members who use DFS demonstrate significantly higher adoption probability. Recommendations include gender-responsive DFS product design, culturally sensitive female digital literacy programmes delivered through women's groups, and engagement of telecoms providers in targeted female customer acquisition. Keywords: digital financial services, gender, financial inclusion, North West Nigeria, mobile money