Communal Pragmatists
25% of Kenya | 7.4 million people
dependent, confident, planners
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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
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
Communal Pragmatists
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:
