Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of social capital in financial literacy and financial inclusion relationship in rural Uganda. The major aim is to establish the role of social capital in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts and uses MedGraph programme (Excel version 3.0), Sobel and Kenny and Baron tests to test the mediation effect of social capital in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion. Findings The results reveals that social capital is a significant mediator in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of rural poor in Uganda. Financial literacy did not have a direct effect on financial inclusion, but through full mediation of social capital. Existence of social capital into the relationship boosts the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion by 61.6 per cent among rural poor households in Uganda. Thus, the finding suggests that with the absence of social capital, financial literacy may fail to enhance the level of financial inclusion among rural poor households in Uganda. Research limitations/implications This study adopted only single research approach using a questionnaire. However, future research through interview may be of importance. Besides, for the purpose of triangulation, a study involving financial institutions’ staff may be viable. Moreover this study was limited by the fact that it was cross-sectional. Furthermore, a longitudinal study may be useful in future to investigate the mediating impact of social capital spanning over a long period of time. Practical implications Managers, policymakers and financial inclusion practitioners should advocate and embark on building social capital among rural communities, so as to improve on the level of financial inclusion. Originality/value While a large body of research has been carried out on financial literacy, this paper is the first to test the mediating role of social capital in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion, especially in rural Uganda. This study generates evidence and contributes to the powerful influence of social capital in enhancing the level of financial inclusion based on financial literacy.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of borrowers' characteristics and credit terms on loan repayment performance of MFIs in rural areas of Uganda. This study is cross sectional and correlational. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 51 MFIs in Uganda. Results indicate that there is a significant relationship between credit terms and loan repayment performance among clients of MFIs unlike borrowers' characteristics. This study's regression model predicts 16% of the variance in loan repayment performance of MFIs in rural Uganda. The study is relevant to persons who borrow money and managers of MFIs and Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs). Managers may need to flex their credit terms and borrowers may have to identify those MFIs and SACCOs that are ready to discuss credit terms if the microfinance industry in Uganda is to help in reducing poverty. Whereas hitherto both borrowers' characteristics and credit terms had been viewed as possible explanations of loan repayment performance, this study only confirms credit terms as a significant predictor of loan repayment performance.

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