Despite the Sustainable Development Goals and Kenya Vision 2030 policies, the households headed by women in Kiambu Town still face some challenges. This study focuses on the socio-economic impacts of income sources and saving plans on female-headed households in Kiambu Town Constituency. A descriptive research design was applied to 370 households with stratified random sampling. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data which was analyzed with SPSS (descriptive statistics, correlations, regression) and thematic coding for qualitative data. From the quantitative data, income sources substantially predicted (χ2 = 125.417, p ＜ 0.001) financial stability. Formal employment was considered less stable, with only 25 percent of small businesses and 50 percent of farming being cited. Savings showed dependence on SACCOs (64.3 percent) and long-term (more than three years with 85.7 percent) savings although 57.2 percent still claimed to save insufficiently. Added constraints such as discrimination and limited opportunities were highlighted in the qualitative data. The article concludes that income sources and saving patterns shape the livelihoods’ trajectory of female-headed households in Kiambu Town, but insecure income flows and informal erode coping synergies. Recommendations include income diversification, available adapted financial services, and increased market access, while maintaining social support benefits.
Cite this paper
Gitonga, B. W. and Odek, A. W. (2025). Socio-Economic Determinants of Livelihoods: A Case of Female-Headed Households in Kiambu, Kenya. Open Access Library Journal, 12, e14217. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1114217.
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