The Influence of Microfinance Services on Women entrpreneurs in Kiogoro Ward, Kisii County

Abstract

The intent of microfinance institutes (MFIs) in developing countries is to provide loans to very poor people inorder to help them transform their lives. MFIs tend to receive subsidies; sustainability is being sought to free MFIs from non-market dependencies. Sustainability is expected tobeachievedwith“bestpractices,”ofwhichmanagementwithperformancemeasuresisa component. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of microfinance services on women entrepreneurs in Kiogoro Ward, Kisii County. It seeks to find out the availability of microfinance institutions operating in Kiogoro Ward, examine influence of financing to the growth of household income in Ward, explore how group lending influences household income and to examine the influence of accounting information sharing on household income. In the examination of influence of microfinance on growth of household income, this study utilized theory of planned behavior and supply-leading finance theory. Descriptive research design was adopted the target population were women entrepreneurs who by the time of collecting data were operating in the region. With a total population of 730, the study used systematic random sampling in selecting a sample of 219 respondents from the three wards in Kiogoro. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as data collection instruments and both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. The findings were presented in frequency tables.