Behavioral biases in personal financial investment and wealth management, Uganda

• Aug 14, 2025
• 1 min

MSC collaborated with XENO, a Ugandan digital investment platform, to identify and test behavioral biases that hinder the uptake of personal financial investment and wealth management solutions. The study sought to design and evaluate behavioral nudges that could drive greater inquiry, enrollment, and usage of investment products among target users.

Over a four-week period, XENO tracked user responses, which included inquiries, sign-ups, and platform engagement. We adopted an A/B testing approach to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of nine behavioral nudges. Each nudge translated into customized message formats and was tailored to XENO’s platform. Approximately 3,000 potential users were randomly selected and divided into nine test groups and one control group, with 300 participants per group. The control group received a generic enrolment message, while each test group received a message based on a specific nudge. The randomized testing allowed for rigorous comparison, free from confusing influences, and provided a ranked list of the most effective nudges based on real behavioral outcomes.

The evaluation offered XENO data-driven guidance on which nudges were most effective to convert user interest into action. The findings underscored the need for user-centric communication strategies and behavioral design to expand access to formal investment products.

Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU) commissioned the project.