Impact of microfinance on women empowerment in rural communities of Plateau State, Nigeria

Micro-finance institutions have made significant contributions to the empowerment of many people through the provision of financial and supporting services to the poor, especially women in rural environments. Thus, it is understood that micro-financing, as a development strategy, empowers women who were hitherto marginalized, and as such, were restricted from participating in the social, economic and political activities of their societies. This study examined the impact of micro-financing service on women's economic empowerment. Data was collected from a total of 424 rural women consisting of 328 microfinance bank Clients, 96 non Clients in program areas respectively in Plateau state. Both primary and secondary data are used in the empirical analyses: primary data are collected through a household survey using a structured questionnaire; secondary data are obtained from the Microfinance banks in Plateau state. The empirical analysis of the study was conducted using descriptive statistics, chi-square and Logit regression analysis. The results of the study indicate that micro-financing scheme has a positive impact on women's economic empowerment as measured by the increased participation of women in household decision-making. Microfinance bank programme has had a positive impact on the living conditions of its clients. The results support the wide belief in the literature that microcredit can significantly impact on five different dimensions of women empowerment ranging from economic security (i.e., control of financial resources) to decision making (e.g., children education, domestic goods ). The study therefore recommends policy makers to be motivated to establish supportive regulatory environments in which the microfinance sector can gain sustainable development. It would be appropriate to legally permit non-financial institutions (NFIs) including NGOs to provide some form of financial services including microcredit.