Influence of Micro Credit Institutions on Women Empowerment in Homa-Bay County, Kenya

International Journal of Economics and Management Studies

© 2020 by SSRG - IJEMS Journal

Volume 7 Issue 7

Year of Publication : 2020

Authors : Tom O. Mboya

10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I7P107

How to Cite?

Tom O. Mboya, "Influence of Micro Credit Institutions on Women Empowerment in Homa-Bay County, Kenya," SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 7,  no. 7, pp. 40-46, 2020. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I7P107

Abstract:

Women empowerment is a theme that has attracted interest from various organizations, government agencies, and individuals from all sectors of the Kenya economy. The concern for national development has, over the decades, underscored the need to improve the quality of life of the citizenry of any given nation. Today this concern remains the same as the level of poverty seems to be on the increase, particularly in Africa, despite continued development aid. It is believed that by empowering women financially, the country can achieve sustainable development at all levels of the economy. The vital roles of microcredit institutions in creating sustainable development cannot be understated. This paper examines the influence of micro-credit institutions on women's empowerment in terms of access to credit, cost of micro-credit, and group savings. Feminist theory was employed to underpin the study variables. The paper argues that microcredit institutions' success in terms of penetration and development depends on developing institutional and policy frameworks concerning poverty reduction directed to women's needs and aligning such policies to vision 2030. An explanatory survey research design was used for this study. Regression analysis was used to test the set hypotheses. The institutions studied were selected using a simple random sampling technique. There was a significant positive linear relationship between access to credit and women empowerment (β=0.771, p-value=0.000 and R square=0.694 or 69.4%)., a significant positive linear relationship between the cost of credit and women empowerment (β=0.604, p-value=0.005 and R square=0.765 or 76.5%) and a significant positive linear relationship between group savings and women empowerment (β=0.610, p-value=0.004 and R square=0.872 or 87.2%). It was therefore concluded that microcredit institutions influence to a greater extent the level of women empowerment

Keywords:

Microcredit, Women empowerment, Sustainable development, Gender equity, Poverty reduction.

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