Abstract:
Tanzania has been at the forefront of mobile money operations in East Africa,
benefiting from high mobile penetration rates. With key players like Vodacom, Airtel,
Tigo, and Halotel dominating the market, mobile money operation services have
revolutionized financial transactions by providing an alternative to traditional banking
systems (Makulilo, 2019),this has in return emerged with vast achievements in
National financial inclusion target from 86% in 2017 to 89% in 2023 that was mainly
attributed by mobile money adoption as per 2023-2028 National Financial Inclusion
Framework .This study was conducted in Mbeya region with the aim of assessing the
influence of mobile money operations on financial inclusion, specifically by
examining how the reliability, accessibility and financial literacy as independent
variables influence financial inclusion. This study was guided by one theory which is
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A quantitative research methodology and
cross-sectional design were employed, using random sampling techniques survey data
was collected from 217 respondents. The relationship between the dependent variable
(Financial inclusion) and the independent variables was established, tested and
analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression techniques. The findings reveal
that the independent variables (Mobile Money operation accessibility, Mobile money
operation reliability and financial literacy) explain financial inclusion growth by
93.7%. Each independent variable was tested separately; results show that, mobile
money operation accessibility with (P-value (0.000) < 0.05), mobile money operation
reliability with (P-value (0.000) < 0.05) and financial literacy with (P-value (0.002) <
0.05) have significant and positive impact on financial inclusion growth. Based on
these findings, the study recommends that government in partnership with mobile
money operators should incorporate financial literacy initiatives in their projects so as
to foster financial inclusion particularly in rural areas. Further studies can be conducted
to comprehensively examine the impact of regulatory frameworks in enhancing
financial inclusion.
