Digital Financial Literacy and Financial Management Practices among Small Business Owners in Kampala Central Division, Uganda

Digital financial services offer small businesses convenient payment, saving and borrowing channels, but access does not establish the ability to manage business money effectively. This article examines how digital financial literacy may support financial management practices among small business owners in Kampala Central Division, Uganda. A structured evidence review integrates Ugandan empirical studies, international intervention research, competency frameworks and national financial inclusion evidence. Published statistics are compared descriptively without pooling incompatible outcomes or estimating new local effects. The evidence suggests that knowledge becomes commercially useful when translated into transaction recording, reconciliation, budgeting, cost comparison and protection against digital financial risks. Ugandan observational studies report relationships between financial literacy, financial access and business outcomes, but their explanatory power varies and one Kampala study finds no statistically significant independent literacy coefficient. A Ugandan randomized experiment demonstrates benefits from digital rather than cash loan disbursement among female borrowers; it does not isolate a literacy effect. National financial inclusion increased from 77% in 2018 to 81% in 2023, providing context rather than a measure of enterprise capability. The review concludes that practical routines, appropriate products and consumer safeguards should accompany education. It recommends task-based training, affordable records and reconciliation tools, accessible complaint channels and longitudinal evaluation using verified business practices. Kampala Central requires stronger direct evidence before a local causal relationship or prevalence estimate can be established.