Determinants of women s participation in microfinance services: empirical evidence from Rural Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Transcription

1 Afrcan Journal of Agrcultural Economcs and Rural Development Vol. 1 (1), pp , September, Avalable onlne at Internatonal Scholars Journals Full Length Research Paper Determnants of women s partcpaton n mcrofnance servces: emprcal evdence from Rural Dre Dawa, Ethopa Dereje Kfle 1, Yenenesh Tadesse 2, Ssay Belay 3 and Jemal Yousuf 4 1, 2, 3 Department of Rural Development and Agrcultural Extenson, Haramaya Unversty, Ethopa. 4 Assstant Professor and Head, Department of Rural Development and Agrcultural Extenson, Haramaya Unversty, Ethopa. Accepted 26 July, 2013 Ths study ntended to dentfy the potental determnants of women s partcpaton decson n mcrofnance servces n Rural Dre Dawa, Ethopa. 203 partcpants were selected and stratfed nto users (151) and non-users (52). The survey data was analyzed usng descrptve statstcs lke ch-square test and T-test. Bnary probt regresson model was also ftted. The study revealed that amount of monthly savng; famly sze and landholdng n hectares were the sgnfcant determnants of the women s partcpaton decsons on mcrofnance servces. Therefore, the study concluded that creatng an enablng land access nsttutons and captal asset accumulaton were prorty strategy for mcrofnance development. Key words: Women s partcpaton, mcrofnance servces, Rural Dre Dawa, Ethopa,decsons. INTRODUCTION Mcrofnance s supposed to be a new feld of fnancal sector wth the am of provdng fnancal servces to low ncome clents who tradtonally lack access to bankng. Mcrofnance, when extended to people, especally women, n rural areas coupled wth supportng actvtes lke tranng, raw materal supply, marketng of products leads to nvestment n mcro enterprses, women may become entrepreneurs and reduce poverty (Aknsanm, 2005). Some argued that the cause of poverty n developng economes among other thngs s that the poor does not have access to credt for the purpose of workng captal as well as nvestment for ts small busness (Ptt and Khandker, 2003; Jean-Luc, 2006). In Ethopa mcrofnance has been consdered as an mportant tool for agrcultural and food securty under the Agrcultural Development Led Industralzaton strategy (Belay, 2001; FDRE, 2002). The Strategy also emphaszes, among others, credt as a means to ncrease smallholder producton (Jean-Luc, 2006). The Mcro credt Summt Campagn reports that 14.2 mllon of *Correspondng author. E-mal: belayssay@gmal.com the world s poorest women now have access to fnancal servces accountng for nearly 74% of the 19.3 mllon poorest served by mcrofnance (Margaret, 2001). Although the development of mcrofnance nsttutons n Ethopa started very recently, the ndustry has shown a remarkable growth n terms of outreach partcularly n number of clents (Wolday, 2000). The mportance of the mcro and small enterprses sector n Ethopa, partcularly for the low-ncome, poor and women groups, s evdent from ther relatvely large presence, share of employment and small captal requrement. The burden s worse n rural Ethopa where peasant women have no alternatve to generate ther own ncome and to be selfrelant (Hamanot, 2007) These are suffcent reasons for governments and other stakeholders n development to be nterested n mcro and small enterprses (Gebrehwot and Wolday, 2001). In lne wth the development of mcro-fnance nsttutons, the Government of Ethopa set up partcpatory rules and polces whch gave space for women s productvty whch consttutes 50% of the populaton. Padma and Swamy (2003) noted that government has formulated and ssued the Ethopan women s polcy to speed up the economc and socal advancement of women. Ths polcy gves specal emphass to rural women by facltatng the

2 Kfle et al. 002 necessary condtons whereby they can have access to basc servces and to ways and means of lghtenng ther workload (Hamanot, 2007). In rural Dre Dawa admnstratve regon, Eastern part of the country, there were nne branches of mcrofnance whch were gvng loan for poor women n group and ndvdual bases. These contrbutes for ncome-generatng actvtes encompass a wde range of area, such as small busness promoton, cooperatves, job creaton schemes, sewng crcles and credt and savngs groups. Albee (1994) opned that economc empowerment projects usually focused on ncome-generatng actvtes, whch allow women to ndependently acqure ther ncome. Sarang (2007) evaluated the mpact of mcrofnance program on rural poor households n some backward regons of Madhya Pradesh n Inda. The fndngs suggested that on the one hand, many of the very poor households were excluded from the program, and on the other, the gans from partcpaton of the program were mostly observed for the better-off secton of households, partcularly those wth hgh captal ncome or the large Land holders. Sharma (2007) examned the mpact of partcpaton n mcrofnance program on women s autonomy and gender relatons wthn the household. The study of Krshnaraj and Kay (2002) concluded that credt to serve as a sole nstrument of poverty allevaton dd not seem to be plausble wthout other corroboratve mechansms that help n ncreasng the potental of credt use by the poor or the small farmer. It was also found that mcrofnance nsttutons had reached only a tny fracton of the populaton and the challenge was to multply the exstng servces. However, most of the lteratures are orented towards the mportance of mcrofnance servces and multply the exstng servces rather than dentfyng ts determnants (Wolday, 2007). Moreover, studes that crtcally assess the determnants of women s economc empowerment through mcrofnance servces are so far lmted n the country (Padma and Getachew, 2004). Ths s perhaps due to the fact that both mcro-fnance development and prorty attenton to women s economc empowerment are new and are now currently recognzed as mportant strateges. Identfyng the determnants of women s economc empowerment through mcrofnance servces helps to understand the real problems at gross root level (Sefu, 2002). Hence, the nformaton s essental for mcrofnance nsttutons to be demand drven rather than supply responsve. Therefore, ths study ntends to generate nformaton about the determnants women s partcpaton of mcro-fnancng servces based on a case-study of women mcrofnance clents n rural Dre Dawa admnstraton. LITERATURE REVIEW Concept of Mcrofnance Mcrofnance Insttutons (MFI s) are defned as nsttutons whose major busness s the provson of mcrofnance servces (Oyunjargal and Nyamaa, 2002). It s the provson of a broad range of fnancal servces such as deposts (savngs), loans, payment servces, money transfers and nsurance to poor and low-ncome households and ther mcro enterprses (Putzeys, 2002). Mcrofnance has undergone several transformatons n terms of concept, servces type and approaches/modes of provson. Indeed, mcrofnance s sad to be a new and emergng feld n whch there s stll a lot to learn (Dunford, 2000). Others, however, argue that snce t s rather not easy n practce to consstently serve clents that are lvng below the poverty lne, mcro-fnancng s meant for those who are presumed to be able to repay loans (Meagher, 2002). Mcrofnance Development n Ethopa Up untl the early 1990s, the sources of fnance for rural and urban poor and mcro and small enterprse operators n Ethopa were confned only to nformal sources of fnance lke moneylenders, frends and relatves (Itana et al., 2004). Consequently, the government came up wth Proclamaton No.40 n June 1996 whch facltated flourshng of several sustanable Mcro-fnance nsttutons (Meklt et al., 2005). After the enactment of ths Proclamaton, about 26 MFIs have been legally regstered by the Natonal Bank of Ethopa (NBE), (Wolday, 2007). The mportance of the mcro and small enterprses sector n Ethopa, partcularly for the lowncome, poor and women groups, s evdent from ther relatvely large presence, share of employment and small captal requrement (Gebrehwot and Wolday, 2001). The orgns of MFIs n Ethopa was largely rooted n ther NGO past wth a clearly defned msson of rural poverty eradcaton (Ptt & Khandker, 2003). A study conducted on the Dedebt Credt and Savng Insttuton ndcated that the program has had a postve mpact on the lvelhoods of ts clents. The study also concluded that economc empowerment leads to socal and poltcal empowerment. (Borchgrevnk et al., 2005). The other study was conducted on Omo and Sdama MFIs women clents n Awassa town. Accordng to ths study, a majorty of the clents are nvolved n the makng and tradng of food, and food-related products. The study also wtnessed that there s no dversfcaton n ther busness actvty. Furthermore, t also reflected n many cases n busness mprovements, decson makng process and asset formaton at low levels, and t s beleved not suffcent (Padma and Getachew, 2004). Ethopan MFIs have served 1,211,305 clents natonwde up to June The loan portfolo n the hands of actve clents was about Br 1.5 bllon (173 mllon USD). The average loan sze was about Br.1000 (116 USD). Ethopan mcrofnance ndustry s domnantly servng the rural poor. About 38 percent of clents of the MFIs are female (Wolday, 2007). As the overrdng objectve of MF servces n Ethopa s

3 003 Afr. J. Agrc. Econ. Rural Dev. to provde a broad range of mcro-fnance servces to large numbers of poor households, t should be ther (MFIs ) prorty to accommodate remarkable numbers of women clents to accomplsh tangble changes n the lvelhood of the rural poor (Hamanot, 2007). There are nne mcrofnance branch offces whch are provdng servce n the form of group, ndvdual and consumpton loan for the rural people. The total numbers of clents are 6621 of these males consttute 2331 and females are 4290 durng data collecton. Women s Economc Empowerment through Mcrofnance The dea of empowerment has nfluenced development practtoners, development agences, theoretcans and donor agences n the last decade (Padma and Getachew, 2004). In lne wth the development of mcrofnance nsttutons, the Government of Ethopa set up partcpatory rules and polces whch gave space for women productvty. Padma and Swamy (2003) noted that, government has formulated and ssued the Ethopan women s polcy to speed up the economc and socal advancement of women. Rural development programs need to reorent ther mplementaton strateges so that they would target rural women as benefcares of development ntatves and programs. Wthn ths framework, ant-poverty and women empowerment could be aspects of the major development strateges. Whle mcrofnance nsttutons have ncreased ther efforts to provde credt to women, n Ethopa women consttutes only 45% of those reached by mcrofnance (Getaneh, 2010). As the overrdng objectve of Mcrofnance n Ethopa s to provde a broad range of mcro-fnance servces to large numbers of poor households, t should be ther prorty to accommodate remarkable numbers of women clents to accomplsh tangble changes n the lvelhood of the rural poor. METHODOLOGY Descrpton of the Study Area Dre Dawa Admnstraton (DDA) s one of the two federally admnstered regons located 505 km from the captal town Adds Ababa. There are two major clmatc zones n the DDA. Kola areas wth alttude rangng from meters above sea level coverng 1173km2, Weyna dega, areas wth alttude rangng between meters above sea level coverng 160km2. Kola has an average annual temperature of degree centgrade and Weyna dega wth degree centgrade. The average annual ranfall s 640.3mm wth hghest mm and a mnmum of 357.3mm. Based on the census conducted by the Central Statstcal Agency of Ethopa (CSA, 2007), DDA has a total populaton of 341,834, of whom 171,461 are men and 170,461 women. Accordng to DDA mcrofnance offce report, there are 40 women groups who are supported by the women ntatves projects run by dfferent NGOs. Samplng Technque and Data Collecton DDA has 38 rural kebeles. For the purpose of the project from the total kebeles, 3 kebeles were selected usng random samplng method. For the selected kebeles, separate lst of benefcares of mcrofnance was prepared. Total sample sze was 203 and of whch 151 were benefcares and the rest were non benefcares. It was selected usng probablty proportonal to sze random samplng technque. Structured ntervew schedule was used to collect data from prmary source whch manly comprsed of target households, mcrofnance servce provders and key nformants followed by revew of the avalable secondary data source. Data Analyss Descrptve statstcs tools such as mean, standard devaton and percentages was used to analyze the quanttatve data that were collected from prmary sources. Independent t-test was used to test mean dfference among contnues varables, and Pearson s 2 (Ch-square) tests for categorcal varables was run to compare groups wth respect to varables of nterest. Bnary probt regresson model was employed to dentfy the determnants of women s partcpaton decsons on mcrofnance servces. Followng Green (2000) probt/partcpaton equaton s specfed as, k * Z = k 1 k Z * = 1 f z > 0 and Z * = 0 f Z < 0 Where, Z * Wk u ; u ~ (0, u ) Partcpaton decson n MF estmates whch has Z dchotomous realzaton on (unobserved) th k = unknown parameters of the k varable to be w k estmated, = varables determnng partcpaton u decson n MF servces,, = dsturbance terms of the frst and second equatons, respectvely.

4 Kfle et al. 004 Table 1. Demographc and soco-economc characterstcs of sample respondents (contnuous varables). Varable Defnton Users (N=151) Non-users (N=52) Total (N=203) t-test Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Demographc ssues Age n years *** Resource endowments Land holdng * Lvestock holdng *** Income ndcators Monthly Savng *** *** and * statstcally sgnfcant at 1% and 10%, respectvely. Source: Survey result, Table 2. Demographc and socoeconomc characterstcs of respondents (categorcal varables). Varable defnton Categores Users (%) (N=151) Non-users (%) (N=52) Total (%) (N=203) 2 -test Relgon Orthodox ** Muslm Protestant o.52 Martal status Sngle Marred Wdowed Dvorced Educatonal status Illterate ** wrte Grade Grade Grade Man occupaton farmer Non-farmer Famly sze More than Access to land Yes No 8 15,5 9 ***, and ** Statstcally sgnfcant at 1% and 5%, respectvely, Source: Survey result, 2013.

5 005 Afr. J. Agrc. Econ. Rural Dev. Table 3. Maxmum Lkelhood estmates of probt model and ts margnal effects. Varables Coef. t-value ME Constant * Age (n years) (Age) 2 ( n years ) Relgon Marrage Educaton Occupaton Famly sze (adult equvalent) ** Household Head Source of lvelhood Land holdng *** Lvestock holdng (TLU) Monthly savng (Eth.Brr) *** Number of observatons (N) =203, Uncensored observatons (N) =151, Ch-square = ***, Pseudo R-square = 0.793, ***, **, * Statstcally sgnfcant at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectvely, Source: Survey result, RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Demographc and Soco Economc Characterstcs of Respondents The result of the study (Table1) showed that the mean age of the respondent lad on productve age category whch was 36 years. Average age dfference among mcrofnance users and non-mcrofnance users was also statstcally sgnfcant at 1% level even f the average economc dfference was very nvsble (0.21years). The results of the study showed that the sgnfcant number of sample respondents were Muslms (96.34%) as compared to Orthodox (2.6%) and Protestants (0.5%). The dfference between mcrofnance users and nonmcrofnance users n relaton to educaton was also statstcally sgnfcant at 5% level (Table 2). Among the mcrofnance users, marred women consttutes 64.5% and the remanng 15%, 4% and 3% were wdowed, sngle and dvorced women, respectvely whereas, among non-mcrofnance users 23.1, 4%, 1% were marred, wdowed and dvorced, respectvely as shown n the (Table 2). The results of the (Table 2) shows that 64.5% of sample respondents were llterate and those who can wrte and read consttute only 11%. But, the dfference s statstcally nsgnfcant n relaton to man occupaton of the respondents (Table 2). The mean monthly savng amount n brr between mcrofnance users (98.28 Ethopan Brr) and non-users (36.02 Ethopan Brr) was statstcally sgnfcant at 1% level (Table1). On the other hand, mcrofnance users (0.36hectares) have hgher average land holdng as compared to non-mcrofnance users (0.32hectares) and the mean dfference was also statstcally sgnfcant at 1% level (See Table 1). The average tropcal lvestock unt (TLU) owned by mcrofnance user (3.23TLU) was greater than non-mcrofnance users (2.94TLU) and the dfferences were also statstcally sgnfcant at 1% level (Table1). The results of the study revealed that 98.9% of the sample respondents have access to land whereas only 9% have no access to land. Among mcrofnance users, more number (92%) of the women has access to land as compared to non-mcrofnance users (87.5%) even f the dfference between mcrofnance users and non-mcrofnance users n terms of access to land was statstcally nsgnfcant. Econometrc Model Outputs Monthly savng The expectaton of mcrofnance use s to generate ncome, provde employment, and allevate poverty and empowerment of women (Suleman et al., 2012). The results of the study revealed that savng experences of sample respondents were postvely and sgnfcantly affect women s partcpaton decsons on mcrofnance servces. Ths can be due to the fact that the monthly savng capactates ndvduals to search for mcrofnance

6 Kfle et al. 006 servces (Malk and Luqman, 2005). The coeffcent of the varable also confrmed that a unt change on the amount of monthly savng changes the probablty of women s partcpaton decson n mcrofnance servces by 1.804, keepng the effect of other varables constant (Table 3). Ths fndng was smlar wth the prevous study conducted on mpact of mcrofnance partcpaton on women s household ncome, the case of Amahara Credt and Savng Insttuton n Kobo, Ethopa (Hamanot, 2007). In addton to, the study of Suleman et al., (2012) smlarly reported n ther study on the sgnfcant of monthly savng on women s partcpaton decsons n Inda. Famly Sze Famly sze was one of the mportant characterstcs of households that determne a households nvolvement n dfferent socal and economc actvtes. Famly sze was converted n to adult equvalent to dentfy the productve famly members who were capable and generatng household ncome to be nvolved n mcrofnance servces. However, the result of the study revealed that the household sze of the respondents sgnfcantly but negatvely affects the women s partcpaton decson on mcrofnance servces. Ths was further elaborated that the sgnfcant famly sze, whch was unproductve aganst ts number has lmted partcpaton decsons on mcrofnance servces. More conclusvely, the household sze of each sample respondent was lacked productvty and generates lmted household ncome. Conversely, large productve famly sze n the rural household generates and enhances household ncome of rural women and enables them to be nvolved n mcrofnance servces. Havng large famly sze may mply that the household has enough labor supply for partcpaton n dfferent ncome generatng actvtes lke mcrofnance servces. The margnal effect of the probt model (Table 3) shows that a unt ncrease of famly sze n adult equvalent decrease probablty of women s partcpaton decsons by 1.76, keepng the effect of other varables constant. Landholdng Currently, land scarcty and lack of alternatve non-farm employment opportuntes are serous problems n rural areas. Severe land shortage, hgh levels of landlessness and unemployment and wdenng poverty are erodng peasant s ablty to wthstand envronmental stresses and food shortages. Land s one of the mportant factors for farm producton. The possble explanaton was that as women have land, she can produce more from her land holdng, so that she needs to opt for mcrofnance servces. Smlarly, the results of the study by Berhanu (1993) had also revealed that farmers wth the landholdng can be engaged on fertlzer credt. Ths statement supports the economc logc of the substtutablty of fertlzer for land. A woman facng the problem of low level of producton due to shortage of farm land and lmted use of modern farm technologes would ncrease her productvty through the use of fertlzer and other mproved farm nputs. Ths forces women for searchng credts and savng nsttutons or ndvduals and groups. The results of the study revealed that the households access to land postvely and sgnfcantly ncreased the probablty of partcpaton decson by (Table3). Ths result s also consstent wth studes carred out n Inda by (Subbarao, 1980). CONCLUSIONS The result of the study showed that the mean age of the respondent lad on productve age category. The dfference between mcrofnance users and nonmcrofnance users n relaton to educaton was also statstcally sgnfcant. The mean monthly savng amount n brr between mcrofnance users and non-users was statstcally sgnfcant. The study revealed that the amount of monthly savng of sample respondents were postvely and sgnfcantly affects women s partcpaton decsons on mcrofnance servces. Smlarly, t was reported that households access to land postvely and sgnfcantly affects the probablty of partcpaton on mcrofnance servces. Therefore, the study concluded that creatng and enablng land rghts and captal asset accumulaton were prorty strategy for pro poor mcrofnance development. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Authors acknowledged the development agents of the three study stes for ther cooperaton durng data collecton. Great apprecaton goes to women who spared ther precous tme to respond to the lengthy questonnare wllngly; wthout ther cooperaton, ths study could not have been completed. Lastly our apprecaton extends to Haramaya Unversty, offce of Vce presdent for research affars for fundng the study. REFERENCES Aknsanm A (2005). Workng under Constrant: Women, Poverty and Productvty:Women and Envronments Internatonal 66, 67: Belay Asefa (2001). Best practces n Mcrofnance: Lessons to Ethopa. A paper presented on Internatonal workshop on mcrofnance, Mekelle

7 007 Afr. J. Agrc. Econ. Rural Dev. Unversty, Ethopa. No.14, pp Borchgrevnk A, Tassew Woldehanna, Gebrehwot Ageba, Woldeab Teshome (2005). Margnalzed groups, Credt and Empowerment: The case of Dedebt Credt and Savng Insttuton (DECSI) of Tgray, Ethopa; Occasonal Paper No. 14, Adds Ababa, Ethopa.pp Central Statstcal Agency (CSA) (2005). Statstcal Abstract of Ethopa. Adds Abeba, Ethopa. Issue No 26-pp, Dunford C (2000). In search of Sound practces For Mcro Fnance. J. Mcrofn. 2, 1: Gebrehwot Ageba, Wolday Amha (2001). Mcro and Small Enterprses (MSE) development n Ethopa: Strategy, Regulatory changes and remanng constrants. Ethopan. J.Econ.10, 2: Getaneh Gobeze (2010). Empowerment of Women n Rural Ethopa. J. Hum.Secur. 205, 23: Goetz AM, Sen Gupta R (1996). Who Takes the Credt? Gender, Power, and Control over Loan Use n Rural Credt Programs n Bangladesh. World Development 24, 1: Hamanot Eshetu (2007). Impact of Mcro-fnance on Women s Economc Empowerment, A Case-Study of Amhara Credt and Savng Insttuton (ACSI), Kobo Woreda, Amhara Natonal Regonal State, Ethopa. Hamanot Eshetu (2007). Impact of Mcro-fnance on Women s Economc Empowerment. A Case-Study of Amhara Credt and Savng Insttuton (ACSI), Kobo Woreda, Amhara Natonal Regonal State, Ethopa. Honohan Patrck (2004). Fnancal Sector Polcy and the Poor: Selected Fndngs and Issues, World Bank Workng Paper No.43. Hunt J (2002). Reflectons on mcrofnance and Women s empowerment. Naln Kasynathan, Oxfam Communty Ad Abroad,South Asa. Volume 4. pp IFAD (2001). Ethopa: Rural Fnancal Intermedaton Programme (RUFIP) -- Formulaton Report, Workng Paper 1: The Mcro-fnance Sub-sector, Annex XΙΙ: Rural Women and Fnancal Intermedaton: Background Paper for Rural Fnancal Intermedaton Programme (RUFIP). Inter-Amercan Development Bank (2001).Rural.There are no sources n the current document. Fnance Strategy, Sustanable Development Sector Strategy and Polcy Paper Seres, Washngton, D.C Itana Ayana, Tsheay Tsegaye, Eshetu Erena, Wolday Amha (2004). Governance and Ownershp Structure of Mcrofnance Insttutons n Ethopa. Mcrofn.dev. Rev. 3, 2: Jean-Luc C (2006). "Mcro and Small Enterprses and Mcro fnance n Afrca, the support to dynamc enterprses: an effectve weapon for poverty allevaton." ncluded n Brrtu No. 95, quarterly bulletn of Natonal Bank of Ethopa, Nov.2005-Jun Krshnaraj M, Kay T (2002).Report of revew of IFAD gender manstreamng projects n Asa, unpublshed paper prepared for IFAD. Malk, Luqman M (2005). Impact of mcro credt on women empowerment: A revew paper. Pak. J. Agr. Sc.42, 3-4. Mayoux L (2002). Mcro fnance and Women s empowerment: Rethnkng best practce. Development Bulletn.57, Oyunjargal T, Nyamaa T (2002).UNDP Mongola Sub- Sector Revew of Mcro-fnance n Mongola. Dscusson paper no 4 pp Padma M, Getachew Ayele (2004). Women Economc Empowerment and mcrofnance: A revew on Experences of Awassa Women Clents. A paper presented n the Internatonal Conference on Mcrofnance Development n Ethopa held at Awassa, Ethopa. no 2 Pp.32. Padma M, Swamy PG (2003). Empowerment of Rural Women A Baselne Study of Awassa Zura Woreda Vllages of SNNPRS, Ethopa. Department of Economcs, Debub Unversty, Ethopa.. Ptt M, Khandker S (2003). Credt Programs for the Poor and the Health Status of Chldren n Rural Bangladesh: Internatonal Economc Revew, 44.1: Putzeys R 92002). Mcro Fnance n Vetnam: Three Case Studes, Belgan Techncal Cooperaton, 57 Tran Phu Street, Hano Sarang, Nranjan (2007). Mcrofnance and the Rural Poor: Impact Assessment Based on Feldwork n Madhya Pradesh, Inda, Paper Presented n Conference on Sustanable Development & Lvelhoods, Delh School of Economcs, Delh, 6-8 February. Sefu Al (2002). The Demand for Mcro Credt Servces n the Afar Natonal Regonal State. The Case of Gewane Woreda. MSC. Thess,Department of RLDS, AAU. pp Sharma, Puspa Raj (2007). Mcro-fnance and Women Empowerment. J. Nepalese. Bus. Stud. 4, 1: Sulaman D, Muhammad, Ghazala Shaheen, Syed Iqbal Hussan Naqv, Saba Zehra (2012). Women empowerment and mcrofnance: A case study of Pakstan Afrcan Journal of Busness Management Vol. 6(22), UNOSCAL (2000). Mcrofnance n Afrca: Combnng the Best Practces of Tradtonal and Modern Mcrofnance Approaches Towards Poverty Eradcaton. Wolday Amha (2007). Managng Growth of Mcrofnance Insttutons (MFIs): Balancng Sustanablty and Reachng Large Number of Clents n Ethopa. Occasonal Paper No. 18. World Bank Group (2001). Poverty Trends and Voces of the Poor: Poverty Reducton and Economc Management, Human Development, Development Economcs. Fourth edton; p: 42