Building and Eroding Digital Trust among Rural Microentrepreneurs in East Africa: A Socially Embedded Conceptual Framework

Mobile platforms have expanded access to financial services, markets and business information among rural microentrepreneurs in East Africa. However, access does not always lead to safe, confident or continued use. Existing studies often explain mobile platform adoption through usefulness, ease of use, security and reliability, with less attention to the social conditions that shape digital trust. This paper examines how technological, personal, service and social factors build or erode digital trust among rural microentrepreneurs. It uses a theory-synthesis approach that brings together the Technology Acceptance Model, trust theory and social embeddedness. The analysis shows that reliable transactions, strong security, transparent services, digital literacy and positive user experiences can build trust. Fraud, privacy concerns, transaction failure, weak customer support and unclear complaint procedures can erode it. Gender influences device access, privacy, financial control and opportunities to gain digital skills. Kinship networks can strengthen trust through information and practical support, but they can also spread distrust and encourage dependence on informal arrangements. The paper develops a Socially Embedded Digital Trust Framework that links these factors to four possible outcomes: confident use, cautious use, dependent use and platform rejection. The framework shows that mobile platform use cannot be fully understood by separating technology from the social setting in which it is used. The paper recommends that digital inclusion policies focus on safe, independent and confident use rather than mobile ownership and account registration alone.