Is women empowerment a zero sum game? Unintended consequences of microfinance for women’s empowerment in Ghana

Salia, Samuel; Hussain, Javed; Tingbani, Ishmael; Kolade, Oluwaseun

doi:10.1108/ijebr-04-2017-0114

Cited by 43 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Due to independent decision-making power of women the traditional role of men has been challenged which often leads to divorce and second marriage. There is neglect of domestic responsibilities by women as they work outside (Salia et al, 2017). It has been exposed that women who take planned loans tend to be more entrepreneurial, outgoing and possess the negotiating skills which lead to the road of empowerment.…”

Section: Microfinance and Women Empowermentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the social and entrepreneurial development of women through Microfinance in Indian context

Bansal

Singh

2020

JMD

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Purpose Microfinance is seen as the tool for poverty elimination. It provides loan to that particular section of the society which is not included in the mainstream financial system. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of Microfinance on the lifestyle of women. The study is undertaken to address the question whether the Microfinance actually reach to the root of poverty and improve the standard of living for women who are considered to be the poorest of poor. This paper also aims to acquire the deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial skills which may or may not be inculcated with the help of Microfinance. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on empirical data. The data were collected through structured questionnaire and purposive sampling was used. The respondents were the women beneficiaries of the Microfinance Institutions in the National Capital Region. Total of 117 women were personally interviewed to obtain the response for the questionnaire. Findings Microfinance helped to develop entrepreneurial skills among the women as acquiring loan helped them start their own microenterprise and support themselves and their family. Microfinance enhanced the participation of women in the household decision-making. As a result, after obtaining Microfinance, women were found to be more socially developed and empowered. Also, the gender gap seemed to have narrowed as a result of Microfinance. Research limitations/implications The findings of the study are limited to the National Capital Region. Practical implications Microfinance will be beneficial for women and lead to their empowerment when they have control over the usage of the loan. Microfinance institutions play an important role in facilitating women to become self-reliant. With the help of this paper, one can understand the role of Microfinance in uplifting the marginalized section of the society. Originality/value The research work is authentic and original as per the understanding. This paper gives an insight into how Microfinance can not only eliminate poverty but also help women develop the entrepreneurial skills. The paper explores into the issue of how gender inequality can be addressed through Microfinance.

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Section: Microfinance and Women Empowermentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the social and entrepreneurial development of women through Microfinance in Indian context

Bansal

Singh

2020

JMD

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“…FNGOs are also independent of direct government control, quick in decision making and are strongly driven by social values (Rajendran and Raya, 2011). Invariably, the focus of FNGO lending activities is on women who are engaged in various economic activities (Salia et al, 2018). In some other cases, FNGOs are also effective in extending microcredit to the poor in conflict-affected areas (Morais and Ahmad, 2011).…”

Section: Ijebr 262mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does institutional logic matter in microfinance delivery? An empirical study of microfinance clients

Atiase

Mahmood

Wang

2019

IJEBR

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Purpose From an institutional theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined impact of financial capital (microcredit) and human capital development (entrepreneurship training) delivered by financial non-governmental organisations (FNGOs) on the performance of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a multiple linear regression analysis, the study used primary data collected from 506 Ghanaian MSEs. Microcredit was measured using four main constructs, namely, loan cost, loan amount, the flexibility of loan repayment and loan accessibility. Entrepreneurship training was measured using four main constructs, namely, training content, training efficiency, training frequency and training accessibility. MSE performance was also measured using three main indicators, namely, sales, employment and profitability growth. The study controlled for business age, industry category, manager’s educational level and gender. Findings The results of this study show that the combined delivery of financial and human capital development by FNGOs has a significant impact on MSE performance. The social welfare logic adopted by FNGOs seems to be legitimate to the needs and growth of MSEs in Ghana. However, the cost of microcredit remains a drawback, constraining the performance of MSEs in Ghana. Research limitations/implications This study was carried out in the Volta Region, which is one of the ten regions of Ghana. Even though the sample size suffices, the findings from this study could not be generalised to the whole of Ghana. Also, this study is a quantitative study and could benefit from a triangulated method where the qualitative inputs could offer insights into the findings in this study. Originality/value Theoretically, this study contributes to the understanding of institutions and the type of impact they have on the growth of MSEs. Practically, the provision of a conducive environment and access to financial capital is crucial to the growth of MSEs. Also, the adoption of the social welfare logic in microfinance delivery could be one of the major steps in promoting the performance of MSEs in Ghana.

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“…Intrinsically, the essence of the word "empowerment" originated from "power." In the detailed discussion of empowerment, Salia, Hussain, Tingbani, and Kolade (2018) write unambiguously that empowerment belongs to people for taking hold of their own lives, getting the ability to explore things, to set their own goals, to modify events which were previously missing. 2 The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) class of poverty measures that allow one to vary the amount of weight that one puts on the income (or expenditure) level of the poorest members in society.…”

Section: Liter Ature Re Vie Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household empowerment as the key to eradicate poverty incidence

haq

Jali

Islam

2018

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

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The current study aimed to investigate how the household empowerment can potentially reduce the rural poverty incidence. The data were collected through multistage random sampling from the rural households of 24 villages in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 600 households were selected as sample pool. Face‐to‐face interviews with the household heads were conducted. The household empowerment was measured through an index that was adopted from Abrar‐ul‐haq (“An assessment of the role of household empowerment in alleviating poverty in Southern Punjab, Pakistan” (Ph.D. Dissertation), School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 2017). The binary logit model was used to analyze the impact of household empowerment with other control variables on poverty incidence. The results of the current study confirm the negative nexus between household empowerment and poverty incidence of rural households as the study reported that the probabilities (odds ratio: 0.877) of being poor are reduced by increasing the empowerment (in every aspect, economically, politically, and socially) of the households, and the results are statistically significant at the 1% level of significance. Based on empirical results, this study suggests that household empowerment has significant potential to reduce poverty incidence in the rural areas of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

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Is women empowerment a zero sum game? Unintended consequences of microfinance for women’s empowerment in Ghana

Cited by 43 publications

References 56 publications

Examining the social and entrepreneurial development of women through Microfinance in Indian context

Examining the social and entrepreneurial development of women through Microfinance in Indian context

Does institutional logic matter in microfinance delivery? An empirical study of microfinance clients

Household empowerment as the key to eradicate poverty incidence

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