Abstract

This study assesses the impact of digital financial services on humanitarian aid distribution in Lagos State, Nigeria, focusing on the role of financial technology in enhancing efficiency, minimizing leakages, and ensuring timely disbursement to beneficiaries. Employing a quantitative research design with a stratified random sampling approach, data was collected from 400 respondents across four selected Local Government Areas (LGAs): Lagos Island, Alimosho, Mushin, and Ikorodu. A multiple regression model was utilized to analyze the relationship between humanitarian aid effectiveness (HAE) and factors such as financial inclusion (FI), digital financial services adoption (DFSA), barriers to financial inclusion (BFI), policy and regulatory environment (PRE), and socio-economic well-being (SEW). The findings reveal a weak positive correlation between digital financial services adoption and humanitarian aid effectiveness, with challenges such as network failures and high transaction costs significantly hindering effectiveness. Although digital financial services offer potential benefits, their impact is constrained by infrastructure limitations and user-related barriers. The study highlights the need for improved regulatory frameworks, enhanced service reliability, and targeted financial literacy programs to optimize the role of fintech in humanitarian aid distribution, ultimately ensuring timely and efficient aid delivery to beneficiaries in Lagos State.