Akena’s Story

Akena Richard is a 42-year-old disabled man from Gulu, northern Uganda. He is a teacher, painter, fine artist, writer and he also holds a diploma in journalism. Akena lives with his family and uses digital financial services (DFS) mainly for acquiring loans and receiving money. However, he admits to not fully trusting DFS for savings due to the many fraud stories he has heard.

Instead, Richard prefers to save his money by purchasing livestock. He believes this method helps his money grow, as the animals can reproduce and provide resources like milk, which is far more rewarding to him than leaving his savings in a DFS account, where he worries about deductions and fraud.

“Not in cash but I put in livestock, I keep animals like goats and cows so that whenever I need money, I just get them and sell.” - Akena