top of page

Communal Pragmatists

25% of Kenya | 7.4 million people

dependent, confident, planners

Click below to learn more:

SCOVIA'S STORY

Meet Scovia

 

“When I plan better, I save and then move on. I don’t want to be in a job forever. I want to know how long.”

Scovia is a 33-year old security guard for RADAR bank. She is a single mother and lives with her 13-year old daughter in a one-room apartment in Nairobi. She also provides for her nephew, mother, and father who live back in her home village. Scovia finished primary school but did not go to secondary school because her parents couldn’t afford it. She views this as a major limiting factor in her career and world, working hard to make sure her daughter can attend secondary school, college, and beyond. Scovia has made investments in livestock that her parents care for, which cover their needs and represent savings––a cow for her daughter's education, a donkey for her nephew.

Despite the many burdens Scovia juggles to provide for her family, what strategies do she employ to meet her own long-term financial goals?

> Segment Overview
> Scovia's Story

SEGMENT OVERVIEW

Communal Pragmatists,

by the numbers

Like Scovia, Communal Pragmatists are mostly lower-middle income, rural, married women relying on income support or farming. Approximately 7.4 million (25% of the Kenyan population) fall in this segment. 

Communal Pragmatists

Kenya Average

GENDER (FEMALE)

72%

53%

AGE (18-34)

51%

51%

SOCIOECONOMIC (SES 1-3)

75%

60%

HIGH INCOME VOLATILITY

64%

55%

They are the lowest-income segment and three-quarters struggle with high income volatility. Though half are not confident in their ability to pay household bills, they identify as effective planners and are moderately to highly conscientious

Financial Behavior & Attitudes

RS-Key.png

Communal Pragmatists

AVG-Key.png

Kenya Average

SAVINGS BEHAVIOR & ATTITUDES

Though Communal Pragmatists are the least frequent savers across all segments, nearly half have an expense plan and a third are goal-based savers.

SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

They rarely use mobile money for savings, but prioritize building cash reserves and sharing money with friends and family, suggesting a need to mitigate income volatility and build their social safety net.

BORROWING BEHAVIOR & ATTITUDES

About half are frequent borrowers, though they are Kenya’s least frequent borrowers across all channels. Despite this, they exhibit high comfort holding debt.

BORROWING ACCOUNTS

They prefer borrowing from family, reflecting their high rates of dependency and income smoothing needs.

Explore our complete set of findings:

> Design Opportunities

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES

How might we create products and services

for Communal Pragmatists that...

Provide Incentives to Grow Deposits

Support Communal Pragmatists to make small ad-hoc savings in the face of low and volatile incomes

Offer Low-risk Entry Level Insurance

 

Provide options that reduce heavy reliance on social insurance, and improve overall financial resilience

Integrate Social Financial Networks

Develop service platforms to leverage powerful social channels and bolster their critical functions

1

2

3

bottom of page