| dc.description.abstract | This is a study on the role played by four nucro finance institutions in
empowering women in Nairobi. The micro finance institutions were: Kenya
Women Finance Trust (KWFT), Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme (KREP),
Small and Micro Enterprise programme (SMEP), and the Undugu Society of
Kenya (USK). The study subjects were women micro credit entrepreneurs, who
have been advanced loans from four micro finance institutions, for the last five
years, and key informants, who were credit managers from these institutions.
The basic questions addressed by the research project were:
• What factors influence women's access to credit from nucro finance
institutions?
• What has been the empowerment impact of micro finance institutions on
women who have been accessed credit?
The specific objectives of the study were to: investigate and explain the role
played by four micro finance institutions in Nairobi in empowering women and
to find out the factors that influence women in accessing credit from micro
finance institutions. To answer the above questions, ten women groups were
subjected to focus group discussions, while five individual women and five key
informants were interviewed using questionnaires.
The main findings of the study were:
• The level of self-confidence and assertiveness of women had increased as a
result of training received from micro finance institutions.
• The women's level of income increased as a result of receiving and investing
business loans into their businesses.
• The skill level of the women improved after receiving trammg from the
institutions. These skills included preparation of business plans and pricing
of goods and services.
• The savings of women increased as a result of savings mobilisation initiated
by the institutions, which has translated into investments of these savings into
Based on the findings, the following were the major recommendations advanced:
• Micro finance institutions need to reorganise internally in terms of personnel
and particularly management structure. This should be reflective ofboth men
and women who are sensitive to gender issues. The institutions should look at
the public they serve, not as a homogeneous group, but as a heterogeneous
group that includes people who can be differentiated as women, the youth,
women with disabilities, age and education levels.
• Micro finance institutions should look into devising monitoring and
evaluation strategies in order to assess the impact of loans on women, instead
oflooking at high repayment rates only.
• The government should harmonise the operations of rrucro finance
institutions so that they offersimilar services.
• Macro economic management of the economy must be conducive to the
growth of saving, investment and enterprise | en |
