By most measures, Kenyans are feeling more confident about their finances than they were a year ago. Financial satisfaction among working Kenyans rose from 5.2 out of 10 in 2024 to 5.9 in 2025, according to the latest Old Mutual Financial Wellness Monitor. Seven in ten respondents said they expect their financial situation to improve over the next six months.
That is a meaningful shift. But the same report makes clear that optimism and instability are coexisting uncomfortably. Read far enough into the data, and a different picture emerges.
Who Was Surveyed
The Old Mutual Financial Wellness Monitor is an annual study tracking the financial attitudes and behaviour of employed Kenyans aged 20 to 59 who earn KES 12,000 or more per month. The 2025 edition was conducted in October 2025, drawing from a nationally representative sample across both formal and informal sectors.
It is not a study of all Kenyans. It covers working Kenyans with at least some income, a group that faces its own pressures but is structurally better off than those without formal employment. That context matters when reading the numbers.
The Progress Is Real
Thirty percent of respondents said they are earning more than they were a year ago. 47% own or co-own a business. The share of people juggling multiple jobs or part-time work has risen from 20% in 2024 to 26% in 2025, a group the report calls “poly-jobbers.” Of those, one in four say their side income now exceeds what they earn from their main job.
Ninety-one percent of respondents said they have a savings goal — a figure that suggests growing financial intentionality, even if the ability to follow through remains uneven. Over half (53%) say they have enough savings to last at least three months without income, up nine percentage points from 2024.
The youngest cohort in the study, those aged 20 to 29, showed even higher optimism than their older peers, and reported greater satisfaction than they did in 2023, despite an environment of high costs.
Arthur Oginga, Old Mutual Group CEO, framed it this way: “Kenyans are not waiting for the economy to improve. In the face of economic pressure, they are actively engineering their own recovery.”
The Fragility Underneath
Here is where it gets complicated.
Forty percent of working Kenyans said they have taken out a loan to cover day-to-day expenses. Mobile loans remain the most common form of credit, followed by personal loans through Chamas — informal savings and lending groups. Fifty-four percent said they are carrying the same or more debt than they were a year ago. Nearly half (46%) regularly spend beyond their monthly budgets.
The share of people who fell behind on rent jumped sharply, from 17% in 2024 to 25% in 2025. Those who dipped into savings just to stay afloat rose from 35% to 40%. Those falling behind on household utility bills edged from 27% to 28%.
These are not marginal shifts. They describe households under sustained pressure, making real trade-offs — moving to cheaper housing, switching to lower-cost brands, even moving children to less expensive schools.
The Sandwich Problem
One of the more striking findings involves what researchers call the “sandwich generation.” Forty-six percent of working Kenyans are simultaneously supporting dependent children and dependent adults. Among those supporting adults, 79% are supporting parents and 49% are supporting siblings. The share of people carrying adult dependants has grown by four percentage points in 2025.
For many households, income is not just insufficient — it is being distributed across multiple generations. This structural reality limits how much any individual can save, invest, or buffer against a bad month.
What the Numbers Are Actually Saying
A financial satisfaction score of 5.9 out of 10 is an improvement. But it is still barely above the midpoint. And the underlying data — rising rent arrears, more borrowing, more people dipping into savings — suggests that the recovery many are anticipating has not fully arrived.
Vuyokazi Mabude, Head of Knowledge and Insights at Old Mutual, captured the tension clearly: “Kenyans are resilient and entrepreneurial. But without stronger support in financial literacy, savings discipline, retirement planning, and protection, this progress risks remaining short-term.”
The study found that income security is now a higher financial priority than ever before. Kenyans want stable, reliable income more than they want investment returns or business growth. That is telling. It reflects a population that is not in wealth-building mode — it is in survival-stabilisation mode, even while projecting optimism.
The Structural Question
The monitor is produced by a financial services company, which means the conclusions naturally trend toward recommending financial products — more insurance, better savings tools, broader access to advice. Those things are not wrong recommendations. But the data raises questions that go beyond product access.
When 40% of working Kenyans are borrowing to eat, the gap between financial aspirations and financial reality is not primarily a literacy problem. It is an income and cost-of-living problem. Closing that gap requires more than better savings apps or accessible advisors — it requires that incomes grow faster than expenses do.
The 2025 monitor, at its core, is a study in Kenyan economic endurance. The resilience is genuine. So is the strain.
