Micro Finance Institutions and Women's Empowerment in Nairobi

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