Role of Mass Media in Achieving Financial Literacy for Pension Preparedness Among Informal Sector Workers in Starehe Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Whereas mass media has been found in literature to play a significant role in promoting positive financial behaviours like investments and saving, it remains scantily explored how the same has been used to create financial literacy for pension preparedness and much less in Kenya. This presents a knowledge gap as a majority of extant related studies have focused on financial literacy and pension preparedness leaving out the role of mass media. This study thus set out to determine the role that mass media plays in achieving financial literacy for pension preparedness among workers in the informal sector in Kenya. The study was anchored on three theories, including Agenda Setting, Framing and Social Cognitive theories. Adopting the descriptive survey design, the study purposively targets Jua Kali mechanics to represent the informal sector, owing to its prevalence across the country. The study was also purposively conducted in Starehe Sub-County in Nairobi County due to its high concentration of Jua Kali mechanics who operate the motor vehicle repair industry. The total number of the target population was 2,134 respondents. To arrive at a desirable sample size, the study used the Yamane formula which yielded a sample size of 337 distributed across the four wards under Starehe Sub-County by clustered random sampling. The data was collected through primary methods using a semi-structured questionnaire to gather quantitative information of the study. Data was computed using quantitative approach including descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicate that financial literacy campaigns (β = .112, Sig.=.054<.05), extent of informal-sector focus (β = .525, Sig.=.000<.05) and perceived role of mass media in financial literacy (β = 1.222, Sig.=.000<.05) significantly influence financial literacy for pension preparedness among informal sector workers in Kenya. The study concludes that financial literacy campaigns, extent of informal sector focus of campaign messages and informal sector workers’ perception of the role of mass media significantly influence financial literacy for pension preparedness. It is recommended that to enhance financial literacy for pension preparedness among informal sector workers in Kenya, pension firms utilize mass media campaign messages that speak to informal sector workers.  

Keywords: Financial Literacy Campaigns, Informal-Sector, Mass Media, Pension Preparedness