Financial Inclusion and the Role of Women in Nigeria

Abstract

The study tests the assertion that greater lending to microfinance female clients leads to an improvement in repayment rate. The study uses unbalanced panel data framework of 752 microfinance banks (MFBs) in Nigeria during the period 2011 to 2014. Findings from the regressions confirm a positive impact of female inclusion on loan repayment rate. A higher proportion of female clients is associated with a greater repayment rate and with fewer loan provisions. The study recommends that microfinance banks should target specifically women clients in Nigeria, as greater lending to them will improve outreach to the poor.

The Role of ICT in Modulating the Effect of Education and Lifelong Learning on Income Inequality and Economic Growth in Africa

“…According to the narrative, Latin America is the only sub-region which surpasses in terms of inequality. Moreover, inclusive development literature in Africa is consistent on the policy syndrome of inequality in contemporary development outcomes (Anyanwu, 2016a;2016b;Anyanwu et al, 2016;Ogunleye, 2017;Cho and Kim, 2017).…”

The Role of ICT in Modulating the Effect of Education and Lifelong Learning on Income Inequality and Economic Growth in Africa

“…According to the narrative, Latin America is the only sub‐region which surpasses in terms of inequality. Moreover, inclusive development literature in Africa is consistent on the policy syndrome of inequality in contemporary development outcomes (Anyanwu, ; ; Anyanwu et al ., ; Ogunleye, ; Cho and Kim, ).…”

Testing the impact of financial inclusion on income convergence: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

“…Certainly, sufficient conditions can be attained if and only if inclusive finance is pursued as a policy objective geared toward lessening the socio‐economic challenges affecting low income groups. Some researchers (Adegboye & Samuel, 2018; Ogunleye, 2017) have found a weak link between bank branches and overall financial inclusion. For instance, the structural adjustment programme era witnessed a rapid increase in Nigeria's rural bank branches from 200 in 1985 to 300 in 1986 (Gani & Ibrahim, 2015), nevertheless, there was no appreciable increase in banked adults as the spread of bank branches was informed by economic factors (such as profitability and complementary infrastructure of the location) rather than improving the access to financial services for unbanked individuals (Nwosu & Orji, 2017).…”

“…A number of researches have also attempted to determine the nexus between household income and financial inclusion. Vast rigorous empirical evidence documents a strong positive effect of inclusive finance on level of income (Dimova & Adebowale, 2018; Ibrahim et al, 2019; Zhang & Posso, 2019), access to finance and women empowerment (Ogunleye, 2017), banking outreach and poverty reduction (Ayele, 2015). A mounting body of literature has convincingly explored the potential of financial inclusion as a driver of income growth, welfare enhancement, and poverty reduction (Aliero et al, 2010; Dimova & Adebowale, 2018; Gani & Ibrahim, 2015).…”

“…There are theoretical arguments that predict that the welfare enhancing drive of financial inclusion will eventually trickle down to the poor and thus reduce income disparity (Anyanwu, 2014; Ibrahim et al, 2012). The extant micro‐level studies (Dimova & Adebowale, 2018; Nwosu & Orji, 2017; Ogunleye, 2017; Zhang & Posso, 2019) revolve around access to finance, income, poverty, welfare, and the gendered comparative benefit of financial inclusion. However, studies on the income convergence process of financial inclusion are very limited.…”