The Relationship Between Mobile Money and Pastoralist Well-Being in Eastern Ethiopia: The Roles of Trust and Financial Inclusion

Mobile money services have fundamentally transformed the financial landscape for pastoralists. Despite qualitative insights into mobile money’s effects on well-being, recent literature lacks rigorous quantitative analyses of its effect on financial inclusion and well-being. Drawing on Sen’s Capability Approach and Putnam’s Social Capital Theory, this study empirically examines how mobile money adoption affects pastoralists’ financial capabilities and well-being in eastern Ethiopia, with financial inclusion and trust as mediating and moderating factors. Using data collected from 450 pastoralists between December 2024 and February 2025, the study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The findings indicate that mobile money positively influences both financial inclusion and financial well-being. Moreover, financial inclusion partially mediated the link between mobile money and well-being, whereas trust strengthened this relationship. These findings contribute to theory and practice by situating digital finance within the pastoralist context and highlighting how technology, inclusion, and trust interact to enhance community well-being. Indeed, the study advances Sen’s Capability Approach by demonstrating how mobile money enhances the substantive freedoms of pastoralists and contributes to Putnam’s Social Capital Theory by validating trust as a crucial communal asset within the context of digital finance.