Impact of microfinance programme on women empowerment (A case study of Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Palpa District)

Abstract

This study examined the Impact of Microfinance Programme on Women Empowerment: (A Case Study of Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. Palpa District). Microfinance is not simply banking for the poor; it is a development approach with a social mission and a private sector-based financial bottom line that uses tested and continually adjusted sets of principles, practices and technologies. The key to successful microfinance lies in the ability of the provider to cost-effectively reach a critical mass of clients with systems of delivery, market responsiveness, risk management and control that can generate a profit to the institution. Typically, this profit is ploughed back to ensure the long-term survival of the institution, i.e. the continuous provision of services demanded by its clients. The two long-term goals of microfinance are thus substantial outreach and sustainability. This thesis examines the effects of women’s participation in group-based micro-credit programs on a large set of qualitative responses to questions that characterize women’s autonomy and gender relations within the household. The results are consistent with the view that women’s participation in micro-credit programs helps to increase women’s empowerment. Credit program participation leads to women taking a greater role in household decision-making, having greater access to financial and economic resources, having greater social networks, having greater bargaining power compared with their husbands, and having greater freedom of mobility. Female credit also tended to increase spousal communication in general about family planning and parenting concerns. Ecologically, the higher impact on women’s empowerment was noticed in hill.