Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Poverty Reduction in North-Western Nigeria

This study examines the impact of financial inclusion and digital financial inclusion on poverty reduction in North-Western Nigeria. This research employed a quantitative design to examine the effect of digital financial inclusion on poverty alleviation in Nigeria. A survey method was utilized to capture respondents’ perspectives, experiences, and opinions on the subject, relying on primary data collection from structured questionnaires. The data was collected from 415 households in the region; the research employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to investigate the relationships between financial inclusion, digital financial inclusion, and poverty reduction via (job creation, purchasing power, and standard of living). Findings of the research indicate that both financial inclusion and digital financial inclusion positively and significantly drive job creation by enabling entrepreneurship; the results further revealed that digital financial inclusion is positively and significantly to purchasing power and household living standards. Thus, indicating that digital financial inclusion facilitates poverty reduction. This study provides empirical evidence that financial inclusion and digital financial inclusion reduce poverty. Policy implications for this study include recommendations for regulatory agencies and service providers to expand digital financial infrastructure., The data for the study were restricted to North-western Nigeria only, which limits the generalization of the results. Hence, future researchers are advised to include all six regions in the country for generalization and policy formulation for the entire nation. It is also recommended that future studies should expand to other regions of Nigeria to enhance generalizability.