| dc.description.abstract | Most poor rural women living in the rural peripheries throughout the world shoulder the burden of
the world’s poverty, particularly in the Least Developed Countries, such as in sub-Saharan Africa.
Women make essential contributions to the rural economies worldwide. However, women’s
general contribution to local and community development is significant, but rural women
everywhere are in a minority in decision-making and planning, particularly at regional and national
levels. This is in part due to women’s multiple roles and workload but is also due to the persistence
of traditional views about the different gender roles in the society. Women perform 66% of the
world’s work load, produce 50% of the food, but earn only 10% of the income and own a dismal1%
of the commune properties. Their poverty level is worse than that of men: a phenomenon that
arises from obvious gender disparities in education, employment and in decision making power.
This situation demands social, economic, political and gender equity to enable women not only
benefit from their enormous current contribution, but also play an even greater role in general
national development. In response to the socio-economic challenges that women have been facing
in their communities they have formed women Self-Help Groups that act as an instrument to
articulate their concerns through various interventions employed by them. However, the growth of
these Self-Help Groups could not go beyond their own internal savings hence the need to approach
financial institutions and in this case banks to stimulate further growth. However, for meaningful
growth, dependence on the very limited internal savings of the Self-Help Groups themselves is
certainly inadequate, hence, approaching financial institutions, such as banks, for funding would
be the expected way out, but this is not the case in Meru. It is for these reasons that the study seeks
to explore the factors influencing uptake of bank credit facilities for women self-help groups in
rural centers based on Imenti North Sub County, Meru County, Kenya. The study adopts a
descriptive survey research design. It has established that collateral requirement, high bank interest
rates and lack of education and awareness of group members negatively influence uptake of bank
credit facilities. The study recommends that banks consider other forms of collateral, such as
shares or guarantors among group members; reducing their levels of interest rates and other
charges that relate to access to credit; and the need for them to work closely with Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to come up with appropriate training to enhance Women
Self-Help Groups members’ financial literacy. | en_US |
