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ROLE OF
MICRO FINANCE BANKS IN ENHANCING ENTERPRENEURSHIP AMONG WOMEN IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0
Background to the study
Microfinance
is the provision of a broad range of financial services to poor low-income
households and micro enterprises (Amin and Pebley, 1994). Research interest in
the issue of access to microfinance particularly by women has been on a rising
trend in recent times. Bennet and Goldberg (1993) asserted that in developing
economies, low-income women are often victims of societal suppression and
abuse; while their counterparts in developed economies are victims of lending
discrimination. It is therefore argued that lending to women may help empower
them economically and socially.
The
heightened interest in the gender dimension of microfinance in recent times
stems from the fact that women are often seen as instruments for societal
change and development and as such, empowering them may be of great benefit to
society. Access to credit by women has therefore become the main subject of
many global and regional conferences, seminars and workshops. Experts have
widely acknowledged the substantial contribution of small and micro enterprises
(of which women participation constitute larger percentage) to the
entrepreneurialdevelopment of a nation, therefore the need to support them to
grow. It is therefore no exaggeration to state that, the most important goal,
which every society in the contemporary world has set for itself, is to empower
its women to be able to afford basic necessities of life such as food, clothing
and shelter; as well as be part of decision making in the home and community.
In many societies in Africa, which Nigeria is no exception, women are not fully
integrated into the socio-
economic
development process (Meyer, 1992) and one of the possible implications is that,
these societies are deprived of their full utilization of their human resource
capabilities and potentials. Education, in its true sense brings some level of
empowerment and once a woman is empowered it will subsequently lead to a
reduction in poverty in various societies, education helps women to contribute
meaningfully to development through participation in decision making which has
been perceived to be the prerogative of men.
In an effort
to promote women empowerment, the U.N general assembly in 1974 passed a
resolution emphasizing the priorities of women, their role and participation in
entrepreneurialdevelopment and the need to integrate them fully into the
development agenda. Subsequently, many world conferences like the first Women’s
conference in Mexico City in 1975, and others at regional levels have been held
and continued to be held. All these conferences aimed at developing and
emphasizing strategies for the advancement of women so as to overcome the
obstacles that women in general encounter in trying to achieve equality, peace,
respect and a say in the development of lives through sustaining their
income-generating activities to enhance their economic power.
In
developing countries, many governments, in collaboration with NGO’s have over
the years implemented programmes aimed at empowering women economically and
socially. One NGO that has been in the forefront of championing the
entrepreneurial empowerment of women is Nsehe Micro Finance Ltd. The company,
which commenced operations in Nigeria in the year 2004, has accepted the challenge
of helping to improve the status and contribution of women in the nation’s
xi
entrepreneurialdevelopment
through the provision of small and micro-credit. This study therefore seeks to
assess the contribution of microfinance to the entrepreneurial empowerment of
women, with a focus on NSEHE MICRO FINANCE microfinance programme.
1.1
Statement of the Problem
Traditionally,
socio-cultural beliefs and other impediments have long limited women’s
participation in the economy and their access to resources for development
especially in developing countries. However, there is a general consensus that
in order for women to play a meaningful role in economic development, they must
be empowered both at the economic and social level. One way of empowering women
is to make credit easily accessible to them to finance their small and micro
enterprises. In an attempt to realize this objective, a plethora of policies
were implemented by various governments in collaboration with other
stakeholders aimed at helping women access funds to expand their businesses.
Despite, the efforts made by the government, policy makers, NGOs and financial
institutions in extending financial services to micro enterprises (of which the
participation of women is greatest), majority of women still faced enormous
challenges in trying to access funds for their enterprises. Constraints to
microfinance by women in small and micro enterprises can be attributed to a
number of reasons such as low return activities undertaken by women coupled
with heavy domestic workloads; channeling their low incomes or returns to
support the up-keep of the home; high rate of illiteracy among women, their
limited roles in household decision-making among others. Moreover, the formal
financial institutions consider lending to small businesses as a very time
consuming and a costly venture since microenterprises lack proper accounting
procedures and owners frequently mix their business and personal finances, so
their
financial
statements are often unreliable. Without access to formal financial service,
most microenterprises are compelled to raise greater percentage of their
start-up capital through their own internal savings and from family members but
these are always inadequate. This study therefore intends to explore the contribution
of microfinance to the entrepreneurial empowerment of women and the measures
that can be taken to make credit easily accessible to them.
1.2
Objectives of the Study
The general
objective of the study is to investigate the effect of microfinance on the
entrepreneurial empowerment of women.
To examine
the entrepreneurial characteristics of NSEHE MICRO FINANCE microfinance
programme
To
investigate the effect of microfinance on the performance of microenterprises.
To examine
the effect of microfinance on entrepreneurial empowerment of women.
Research
Questions
The research
questions of the study are as follows;
xiii
What are the
entrepreneurial characteristics of NSEHE MICRO FINANCE microfinance programme?
What is the
effect of microfinance on the performance of microenterprises?
Does access
to microfinance contributes to the entrepreneurial empowerment of women?
Significance
of the study
The outcome
of this study will help the government, policy makers and financial
intermediaries on the contribution of microfinance towards women empowerment in
Nigeria. Besides, the findings would be useful to advocates of women
empowerment who can rely on it to make a case for more credit facilities for
women to improve their businesses. Furthermore, the study may help other
stakeholders particularly NSEHE MICRO FINANCE in reviewing their lending
policies towards women in order to achieve greater efficiency and offer value
added financial services.
1.5 Research
Methodology
The study
used the survey method to analyze the effect of microfinance on entrepreneurial
empowerment of women. Statistical techniques such as frequency, percentages and
statistical tools such as tables and bar graph are used to analyze the
responses to the questionnaire. Detailed methodology is provided in chapter
three.
1.6
Limitations of the Study
A number of
problems were encountered in undertaking this study, such as non-availability
of needed current data, which would have enriched the study further and
xiv
enhance its
analysis because of poor data keeping culture. Some difficulties were also
faced in obtaining relevant information about NSEHE MICRO FINANCE due to
privacy and security reasons. Besides, time and cost constraints make it
technically impossible for a national survey thus the study relied on samples
from the Greater Accra region although NSEHE MICRO FINANCE operates in eight
regions in Nigeria.
1.7
Organization of the Study
The study is
organized in five chapters. The first chapter gives the background to the
study, problem statement, the objectives, research questions and the
significance of the study among others. The second chapter dealt with a review
of related literature on the topic whereas the third chapter covers the
detailed methodology. The fourth chapter covers the presentation and discussion
of the results. The summary, conclusion and recommendations are provided in the
fifth chapter.
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