World Development Vol. 66, pp.

335–345, 2015
0305-750X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.08.027

Microcredit: Empowerment and Disempowerment

of Rural Women in Ghana
JOHN KUUMUORI GANLE a, KWADWO AFRIYIE b and ALEXANDER YAO SEGBEFIA b,*
a
University of Oxford, UK
b
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Summary. — Microcredit for women is a commonly used strategy for women empowerment. Based on longitudinal qualitative research
with rural women who are involved in an NGO-run micro-lending program in Ghana, this paper examines the empowerment effects of
rural women’s access to microcredit.
We found that some women are empowered as a result of their access to credit; some have little control over the use of loans and are not
better off; and some are subjected to harassment and are worse off due to their inability to repay loans in time. The implications of these
findings for policy and practice are discussed.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key words — microcredit, women, empowerment, disempowerment, Ghana

1. INTRODUCTION of microcredit are to reduce poverty and empower women

(Norwood, 2005). Indeed, Mohammed Yunus, founder of
Limited savings and lack of access to credit make it difficult the Grameen Bank’s microfinance program in Bangladesh,
for many poor people, particularly women in low-income has suggested that microcredit is one simple idea that can
countries, to become self-employed and to undertake produc- eradicate global poverty among women (Hulme & Mosley,
tive employment and income-generating ventures (Khandker, 1996).
1998). Microcredit programs for women have thus emerged It is within this context that the micro-lending activities of
and are currently being promoted as both a solution to World Vision Ghana in the Nadowli District are to be under-
women’s limited access to credit and a strategy for poverty stood. World Vision Ghana is an international Christian relief
reduction and women empowerment (Hashemi, Schuler, & and development NGO dedicated to helping children and their
Riley, 1996). communities worldwide to reach their full potential by
Based on data generated from original longitudinal qualita- tackling the causes of poverty. In Ghana, World Vision began
tive research we conducted in five rural communities in Ghana operation in 1980, and started the Nadowli Area Development
with women who are involved in a popular local microenter- Programme in October 1993. The extension of microcredit to
prise development program run by a big international non- women for micro-enterprise development is one of World
governmental organization (NGO), this paper investigates Vision’s strategies for women empowerment.
how rural women’s access to microcredit empowers them or World Vision Ghana’s microcredit program is modeled on
otherwise. Findings show that some women have become the approach of the Grameen Bank. It lends to very poor indi-
more empowered, while others have also become disempow- viduals, all of whom are women. At the time of this research,
ered as a result of accessing the loan. 3,042 women were benefitting from the scheme. Lending was
based on groups rather than individuals, although loan sizes
vary from one group member to the other, usually depending
2. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH on loan managers’ evaluation of the capacity of each group
member to effectively manage the loan. A typical group con-
This paper forms part of a larger, original research that sisted of 10–20 borrowers, and lending to individuals within
sought to explore the relationship between microcredit and the group occurred in sequence. The average loan size was
the socio-economic empowerment of women in rural Ghana. 15 Ghana cedi (then approximately US$15 and now approxi-
Microcredit is simply the extension of a small amount of col- mately US$ 5). Loans to groups were usually for a period of
lateral-free institutional loans to jointly liable poor group 6 months, with potential for increasing loan amounts in each
members for their self-employment and income-generation cycle. In principle, the size of loan should steadily increase
(Rahman, 1999). The strategy is based on a creative grassroots with regular and timely monthly interest payment by all group
alternative to reliance on informal lenders as the source of members. In practice however, delays in payment of interests
credit in situations where people, especially the poor, cannot often make it difficult for group members to receive additional
get access to formal credit such as loans from banks funds at the end of each loan cycle. No collateral was required,
(McDermott, 2001). and a flat interest rate of 20% per loan cycle (of 6 months) was
In low-income countries worldwide, microcredit for women charged on loans. Borrowers are expected to start making
is increasingly used as a strategy for poverty alleviation and their monthly interest payment after a grace period of one
women empowerment. Currently, there are arguments that month. The central feature of the program is the joint-liability
micro-lending to poor women holds the key to 21st century’s
sustainable economic and social development (Norwood,
2005; UN, 2011). The argument is that the biggest promises * Final revision accepted: August 20, 2014
335
336 WORLD DEVELOPMENT

condition. That is in the event of any group member default- arrived at through extensive preliminary discussions with
ing, no group member is allowed to borrow again, and group women and loan managers using participatory learning and
members are also collectively responsible for paying up the action approaches (Mayoux, 1998) and pre-testing.
debt of any single group member in case of default.
In view of the fact that World Vision Ghana’s microcredit (a) Material pathway matrix
program aims to empower women, it is important to know
the extent to which women have been empowered as a result The material pathway matrix to women empowerment
of their access to these loans. Strikingly, 30 years into the encapsulates both measureable and non-measureable material
microcredit movement there is little solid evidence of how elements, possession and/or ownership of which are deemed
microcredit affects the lives of clients in measureable ways necessary in the determination of whether a woman is empow-
(Roodman & Morduch, 2009). Some studies from Asia sug- ered or otherwise. In the study communities, the following
gest that participation in Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh specific indicators were identified.
Rural Advancement Committee micro-lending schemes is pos- – Engagement in income-generating activity: A woman was
itively associated with a woman’s level of empowerment asked whether before and after she was given the credit,
(Hashemi et al., 1996; Sinha, 1998). Beyond the context of she engaged in any economic activity or employment that
Bangladesh and Asia more generally, few detailed studies have generated income.
been undertaken (Roodman & Morduch, 2009; UN, 2011). In – Having disposable income – to make small purchases, pay
Ghana, although there are few studies that have examined dif- children’s school fees, buy food and medicine, and give
ferent aspects of microcredit (Afrane, 2002; Arku & Arku, ko kuo (small amount of money given to support com-
2009; Schindler, 2010), to the authors’ knowledge, none of munity members when they are bereaved). A respondent
the existing studies focused on women empowerment. Yet, it was asked whether before and after she got involved with
is unclear whether empowerment is an automatic outcome the credit scheme, she had any cash savings or disposable
for all women everywhere, particularly in Africa where eco- income that she could use to make small purchases on
nomic, political, and socio-cultural circumstances may differ. her own, buy food and medicine as well as give ko kuo.
It is from the void of solid evidence to explain how microcredit
affects the lives of women in Africa that this paper becomes (b) Relational pathway matrix
relevant. As the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser
on Africa observed in 2011, this is a good time to reassess the The relational pathway matrix describes the relationship
role of microcredit in Africa’s development (United Nations, and interaction between women and other members of their
2011). household and community. Indicators here include:
– Control over loan use and income from loans: Once a
respondent was established to have received credit from
3. DEFINING EMPOWERMENT AND INDICATORS OF World Vision, we asked to know who controlled the
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT loans, funded enterprises, and any incomes or assets that
may accrue from the loan investment. A respondent was
For various reasons, the concept of empowerment is elusive specifically asked whether she exercised full, significant,
to define (Mason, 1987). Common to most conceptualizations, partial or no control over any profits or income that
however, is that empowerment is about change, choice, and accrued from investment made with the loan. A woman
power. In this paper, we defined empowerment as a process was also specifically asked whether her husband or any
of change by which individuals or groups (in this case rural other member of her family has ever forcefully taken
women) with limited choice, freedom, and power are enabled away income from her loan investment. This was partic-
to gain and leverage power that enhances their ability to exer- ularly important because our preliminary engagement
cise choice and freedom in ways that positively contribute to with both loan officials and women to determine what
their well-being. counts as empowerment for women revealed that having
That conceptualizations of empowerment are diverse makes control over funded enterprises is a very important first-
the identification and delineation of measureable indicators to step toward empowerment.
assess women’s empowerment very difficult (Mayoux, 1998). – Involvement in major family decision-making: We also
Particularly problematic is the possible disjunction that may asked women whether before and after they received
arise between women’s own aims and notions of empower- the loan, they participated in decision-making (individu-
ment and externally derived empowerment criteria established ally or jointly with husband or other kinsmen) within the
apriori. Similarly, behaviors and attitudes that might be used family on such issues as sale of family land or livestock,
to measure women’s empowerment in one society may have sending children to school or the clinic and marrying out
no relevance in another (Hashemi et al., 1996). Moreover, of their daughters.
women are not a homogeneous group, so that it might not – Relative freedom from domination and abuse: A woman
be possible to identify one or two sets of criteria for women’s was asked whether before and after she had access to
empowerment that are equally relevant for all women. There- the loan, money, jewellery, or livestock had been taken
fore, we agree with Mayoux (1998) that women’s own aspira- away from her against her will. The respondent was also
tions and strategies are a central element in explaining asked whether before and after she received the loan, she
program outcomes, and must therefore be included in any had suffered any physical, emotional or verbal abuse
empowerment analysis. from her husband or any member of her family.
To explore the level of women’s empowerment as a result of
their involvement in World Vision’s micro-credit program, (c) Perceptual pathway matrix
three main pathway matrixes of women empowerment were
used: Material, Relational, and Perceptual. Under these The perceptual pathway matrix of women empowerment is
matrixes are a total of seven indicators and specific actions based on a woman’s own rough assessment of her status in
that characterize women empowerment. These indicators were the household, family and community. In other words, this
 MICROCREDIT: EMPOWERMENT AND DISEMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN GHANA 337

aspect of empowerment seeks to shed light on women percep- differences were observed between the results of our mid-term
tion of well-being and the changes that they have experienced research and those of final round.
since their involvement in the micro-credit scheme. Specific The choice of a qualitative study design was informed by the
indicators that were identified include: fact that the inherently limited potential for structured surveys
– Reduced economic dependence on husband: Women were to contribute to understandings of women empowerment has
asked to compare their level of economic dependence been widely acknowledged in the literature (Mayoux, 1998;
on their husbands or other family members before and Roodman & Morduch, 2009; Sinha, 1998). Mayoux (1998)
after receiving the loan. Specifically, respondents were and Sinha (1998) believe it is unlikely that existing quantitative
asked whether before or after receiving credit, they methods can realistically assess the impact of women’s access
depended more on the earnings of their husbands or to credit on their empowerment. Thus although a quantitative
other family members to make small purchases (e.g., design such as a survey with a large sample could have been
food and clothing) for themselves or for other family used in this research, such a design offers limited space for
members such as children. an in-depth exploration of local narrative accounts on the
– Mobility and self-confidence/assertiveness: A respondent effects of microcredit on women empowerment. Qualitative
was presented with a list of places and events – market, research, however, attempted to provide access to the opin-
clinic, and naming, wedding and funeral ceremonies in ions, aspirations and power relationships that helped to
or outside the community – and asked whether before explain how people, places, and events (e.g., women empower-
and after she received the loan, she had gone to any of ment) arose in identifiable local contexts which privileged indi-
these places and events, whether she needed the permis- vidual’s lived experiences (Karnieli-Miller, Strier, & Pessach,
sion of her husband or another person, and whether 2009). The qualitative methods used in this research generated
she went there alone. A respondent was further asked rich, contextually detailed, and valid process data that left the
whether she felt her self-confidence or level of assertive- participants’ perspectives minimally altered and enabled in-
ness had increased or decreased before or after she depth exploration of the topic. Because majority of the women
accessed the loan. in this study could not read and write to answer written ques-
We acknowledge that although these empowerment indica- tions, qualitative research using interviews was indeed a better
tors resulted from discussions with women and loan managers, option.
they might not fully capture the phenomenon of women
empowerment. This is all the more so in the context of Ghana (b) Study setting and research participants
where women’s disempowerment is rooted in a number of fac-
tors including: limited political participation; low levels of Field research was conducted in five rural communities in
female education; poor health including high maternal mor- the Nadowli District of the Upper West Region of Ghana.
bidity and mortality, and female genital mutilation; less sup- Participants were women drawn from the 3,042 rural
portive legal environment that promotes gender equality and women-loan recipients and workers from the Nadowli Area
women’s right; patriarchal and hegemonic masculinity norms Development Programme of World Vision Ghana. In all,
that view women as inferior to men; limited economic oppor- there were 232 participants. Of this number, 230 were
tunities; and cultural practices such as forced marriage women-loan recipients, and this represented eight per cent of
(Anyidoho & Manuh, 2010). Indeed, as the indicators we iden- all women borrowers at the time. The remaining two were
tified above are only paths out, it is possible that women local staff of World Vision. The ages of the women varied
empowerment might be rooted in something that microcredit between 18 and 46 years. The majority of the women had no
is unable to adjust for. Nevertheless, our research with women formal education. Several of the women were married or living
suggests that these indicators fairly approximate the concept with a partner. The majority of the women also had between
of women empowerment in the study communities. one and five surviving children. In comparison with Ghana’s
2010 Population and Housing Census data for the Upper West
Region, the socio-demographic characteristics of our study
4. METHODS participants were generally very typical of the women popula-
tion in the region (see Ghana Statistical Service, 2012).
(a) Research design We chose World Vision Ghana’s microcredit program
mainly because of its emphasis on women empowerment.
This study was designed as a longitudinal qualitative We also chose Nadowli District because it is the first district
research, involving an initial research phase and two addi- in the region where World Vision Ghana started its micro-
tional phases of follow-up research. The first phase of the lending program. The five communities were also chosen
research (December 2006–January 2007) was a baseline survey because they were among the oldest program areas of World
to identify loan recipients and to enroll them in the qualitative Vision Ghana in the district.
study. This phase also aimed to work with women and loan
managers to identify and delineate relevant indicators of (c) Sampling procedures
women empowerment. The second research phase (December
2009–January 2010) was used to gather data on the income- The strategy for recruiting participants involved both prob-
generating activities of loan recipients and the effect of the ability and non-probability sampling procedures. For the
loans on their empowerment. The last research phase took women, a simple random sampling procedure was used to
place in December 2011, a period during which World Vision select participants. This involved a three-stage procedure.
was preparing to fold-up its operations in the Nadowli district First, we obtained the individual files containing names and
in line with its normal programing cycle. The aim of this last personal records of each of the women-loan recipient from
research phase was to evaluate changes in women empower- the five study communities from a central registry. In the sec-
ment overtime. The data reported in this paper however focus ond stage of the sampling, we made a blindfolded person to
on and compare findings from the first research phase to randomly select the required number of participants from
the final round of research. This is because no significant the pool of files for each community. Third, we then contacted
338 WORLD DEVELOPMENT

each of the randomly selected persons in their various commu- members and processes of change in women’s role and sta-
nities to discuss the study as well as conduct interviews. Where tus within and outside the household.
any of the randomly selected participants was not available or To ensure that the final research instruments were reliable, a
declined to participate in the study (and there were only two pre-test was done in the study communities prior to actual
such cases), we repeated the process to get replacements. data collection. The pre-test enabled us to refine questions
A purposive sampling technique was however used to select and use appropriate concepts.
staff of World Vision Ghana. This was a judgmental selection
based on the participant’s perceived role or knowledge of the (f) Analysis
subject of study.
Following the completion of interviews, we analyzed the
(d) Data collection methods data using the Attride-Stirling’s (2001) thematic network qual-
itative data analysis framework. This involved several steps.
To reproduce rural women’s experiences about their partic- The first step involved transcription and reading of transcripts
ipation in World Vision’s micro-lending program, focus group and field notes for overall understanding. The first author and
discussions and in-depth interviews were employed to collect an independent language (Dagaare) specialist transcribed all
data. This was however complemented with the development tape-recorded interviews from Dagaare to English. All the
of a structured instrument to collect detailed demographic authors then reviewed the transcript for overall understanding
and socio-economic organizational information about the par- and comprehension of meaning. This first step was completed
ticipants. Five focus groups (involving a total of 80 women with a separate summary of each transcript outlining the key
borrowers) and 150 in-depth interviews were conducted. In points participants made. Second, the interview transcripts
each study community, one focus group was conducted in were exported to NVivo 9 qualitative data analysis software,
addition to completing at least 25 individual in-depth inter- where the data was both deductively and inductively coded.
views. Focus groups consisted of 12–20 women and all discus- Codes are labels, which are assigned to whole or segments of
sions were held in the communities, usually at venues chosen transcripts and interview notes to help catalog key concepts
by the women and were organized on non-working days. All (Miles & Huberman, 1994). We continued coding the data
focus groups were conducted in the local dialect (Dagaare) until theoretical saturation was reached (i.e., when no new
of the study communities. Each focus group lasted for concepts emerged from successive coding of data). Third, we
90 min. In all groups, participants’ verbal consents were applied the code structure to develop and report themes.
gained and the discussions were audio recorded using a digital Themes simply represented some level of patterned response
recorder. This consent was attained in addition to ethical or meaning within the data set (Boyatzis, 1998). Finally, all
clearance obtained from management of World Vision, tradi- the themes identified were collated into a thematic chart to
tional and opinion leaders of the study communities, and reflect basic themes, organizing themes, and global themes.
women group leaders. To ensure that the thematic chart reflected the data, we went
through the data segments related to each theme. Where nec-
(e) Research instruments essary, refinements were made. Where appropriate, we used
verbatim quotations from interview transcripts to illustrate
Two main instruments were used. For the focus groups relevant themes. In few instances too, qualitative responses
and in-depth interviews, an open-ended thematic topic guide are aggregated and presented in a quantitative fashion to facil-
and question guide respectively were designed to ensure that itate easy understanding.
the same themes were covered in each interview. The instru-
ment allowed questioning to flow naturally while permitting
us to probe more in-depth on certain pertinent issues. These 5. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
instruments focused primarily on documenting use of credit
in household economy, interactions between women-loan (a) Targeting women
recipients, and borrowers’ interaction with members of their
household. Some of the questions explored include: how did We begin the presentation of our findings by briefly reflect-
you become a member of World Vision’s micro-lending ing on why women are the targets of World Vision Ghana’s
scheme – did you make the decision by yourself; before microcredit program. The official policy position of World
you received the credit, were you engaged in any economic Vision Ghana for targeting women with credit is that empow-
activity or employment that generated income; did you have ering rural women through the provision of microcredit would
any cash savings or disposable income that you could use to enhance their productive capacity, and increase their economic
make small purchases on you own; presently, do you have security and their confidence in demanding continued and
any cash savings or disposable income on your own; what expanded opportunities for themselves (Sam, 2005). Targeting
did you do with the loan you received; are you making women is further founded on the assumption of women’s
profit from any investments that you made with the loan; greater contribution to family welfare. The argument here is
before you received the loan, did you participate in deci- that the priority of women is always to first invest their earn-
sion-making in your family/household, and on what kind ings in their children, then subsequently, accompanied by
of issues; currently do you take part in household deci- spending on their household necessities. The organization
sion-making; who controls the profit or income that you therefore believes providing women with credit in order to
generate from your loan investment; and has your husband increase their earnings would generate more qualitative
ever forcefully taken away income from your loan invest- and quantitative direct transformational benefits to family
ment? In addition, a more structured instrument or what welfare.
Hashemi et al. (1996) called the ‘household survival matrix’ However, interviews with loan managers suggest other
was developed and administered to all 230 women. This reasons that directly raise questions about the sincerity of
instrument sought to collect detailed information at several the program’s commitment to women empowerment. One
points in time about economic activities and earnings of loan manager said:
 MICROCREDIT: EMPOWERMENT AND DISEMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN GHANA 339

Why we give the loan to only women? Well, you know [that] in but requiring larger capital investment. Although some
the communities we work in, the men are not correct. When women managed to improve their incomes nevertheless, as
you give them loan they will spend it or they will refuse to we show below, the small sizes of the loan that most women
pay back. It is very hard to work with them. . .you know most complained about is part of the reason why some women
of them are very mobile and so can easily disappear with the failed to invest their loans in economically rewarding ventures,
loan. But with the women, they are ok, they are always around faced considerable difficulty repaying their loans, and had
the community and they are reliable. If I call a meeting today, even become more vulnerable and disempowered.
they will all come and they are also ok when it comes to paying One other related problem our study documented was the
back the interests on their instalment. That is why we work timing of the loan. Usually, loans are disbursed to women
with them. (Loan Manager (Woman), IDI, Nadowli ADP). annually in the month of June. About 56% of the women
In this way, the idea of targeting women, apart from it being interviewed said this timing was inappropriate mainly for
seen as the ‘rational thing to do’, is also a strategic one, meant two reasons. First, the time coincided with what the women
to facilitate easy recovery of loans. But World Vision’s described as the ‘‘hunger gap’’ in the district, during which
approach also highlights an important lesson about how time food is difficult to come by. One widow illustrates the
poorly adapted microcredit methodologies applied without point:
sufficient understanding of the socio-cultural context can have . . .Ah, time? This was a time I had nothing to feed my children
some unexpected, adverse consequences, even while achieving with. So when World Vision gave me the loan, I used it to buy
some good outcomes. Thus having an understanding of the food! Should I invest this money in selling salt or pepper while
nature of potential loan recipients and the socio-cultural con- my family starve to death? (Woman, FGD).
text within which they live could be vital for the survival, effec-
tiveness and long-term success of any microcredit program. Second, respondents noted that during this time of the year,
there is usually a shortage of agricultural produce such as gui-
(b) Volume, adequacy, and timing of loan nea corn – commodities women either trade-in directly or use
as raw materials for the production of other goods such as pito
Table 1 shows the length of time respondents had benefited (local beer brewed using maize or guinea corn). As a result,
from the scheme and the amount of loan received. Most of the many loans are either mismanaged or channeled into direct
women (70%) we interviewed had been in the program from consumption. By showing how disbursing loans for business
between six and 10 years. In an earlier study in Bangladesh, start-ups in the hungry season leads to non-investment, non-
Hashemi et al. (1996) suggested that the longer a woman repayment, and disempowerment, the findings here not only
stayed as a member of either BRAC or Grameen Bank, the raise questions about the specific methodology of World
greater the likelihood that she will be empowered. Our focus Vision Ghana, but they also suggest that lack of appreciation
group discussions and in-depth interviews with women of the local economic context within which a microcredit
revealed no such relationship. Thus the fact that one had ben- scheme is implemented could easily contribute to ineffective-
efited from the scheme for long did not mean that one would ness.
be empowered socially and economically. This, the women
reported, was because the ability to be empowered depended (c) The impact of World Vision Ghana’s microcredit program
on other more important factors such as the type of invest-
ment the loan was put into and whether a woman even had (i) Women’s involvement in income-generating activities
control over the loan use and the income accruing thereof. As a first step toward empowerment, World Vision provides
From the time they joined the scheme till the time of this credit to women so that they might engage in income-generat-
research, most women had received a cumulative loan amount ing activities and thus bring about meaningful socio-economic
of between GH¢11 and GH¢30. While World Vision consid- changes in their lives. Once loans are granted, borrowers must
ered the various amounts it loaned to women appropriate invest their loans in productive activities and start paying their
for rural women empowerment at the time, our interviews installments every month using the profit earned from the loan
with women regarding the adequacy of the loan amount they investment. Data were elicited to evaluate whether women
received showed that most (92%) believed the amount was were actually involved in income-generating activities, the pro-
woefully inadequate to engage in any meaningful income-gen- portion of loan recipients who already had income-generating
erating activity. Participants noted that the small size of the activities before receiving the loan, and how many of those
loan did not allow for investment in different ventures or who did not have a business activity at the beginning suc-
investments in business ventures that were high profit-yielding ceeded in starting one after receiving the loan. Table 2 shows
respondents’ involvement in income-generating activities
before and after the loan.
Table 1. Years of involvement in scheme and loan Before receiving the loan, only 29% of our study respon-
amount received
dents were engaged in some business activity. This figure rose
Characteristic Response Percent to 62% after the loans were given, suggesting that 38% of
Number of years involved in the scheme women who received the loan were unable to start any busi-
1–5 48 21.0 ness activity. While we discuss the reasons for this in Table 3
6–10 161 70.0 below, two issues need pointing out. First, given that a large
11–15 21 9.0 proportion of women were not already engaged in any
Total 230 100.0 income-generating business but World Vision nevertheless
gave them loans for the purpose of starting up one, one could
Cumulative Amount of Loan Received (GH¢) applaud the organization for enhancing these women’s access
P10 3 1.0
to finance. However, the fact that a considerable number of
11–30 221 96.0
these women failed to start-up any business suggests that
31–60 7 3.0
World Vision’s approach did not adequately appreciate what
Total 230 100.0
women’s access to microcredit can do or not do in a context
340 WORLD DEVELOPMENT

Table 2. Involvement income-generating activity before and after loan

Involvement in income- Involvement Involvement Percent Percent Change in
generating activity before loan after loan before loan after loan percentage
Yes 67 143 29.0 62.0 33 (+ve)
No 163 87 71.0 38.0 33 ( ve)
Total 230 230 100.0 100.0

Table 3. Loan investment patterns this is one primary reason why many women are unable to
Loan use type Response Percent
pay the 20% interest on their loans, which then leads to several
undesirable outcomes including verbal abuse from other group
Farming (food crops) 5 2.2 members.
Pito (local beer) brewing 37 16.1 The second issue is that a significant number of women
Frying and selling koose (bean cakes) 19 8.3 (38%) have even failed to invest their loans in any venture
Petty trading in agricultural products e.g., maize 13 5.6 that could generate income. Two main reasons accounted
Petty trading in other consumer goods e.g., salt 17 7.4 for this. First, the initial loan capital went into direct con-
Shea butter extraction and sale 21 9.1 sumption. Several accounts were given about loans being
Hairdressing 5 2.2 used to meet immediate household needs such as purchase
Sewing/dressmaking 8 3.5 of food and medicine. Second, the loan was forcefully seized
Pigs rearing 8 3.5 or in some instances women themselves voluntarily handed
Poultry farming 9 3.9
over the loan to their husbands or another family member.
Direct loan consumption 27 11.7
For all these women, losing the initial loan capital often
Loan seizure by husband/loan given to 61 26.5
initiates a process of dispossession and indebtedness that
husband or another family member to use
culminates in a gradual but profound socio-economic
Total 230 100.0
privation and disempowerment. The fact that a substantial
number of the loans are used for purposes other than invest-
ment in income-generating activities could be related to the
where economic opportunities for women are limited and fact that World Vision’s loan operation policy does not
where women faced other economic necessities such as poverty focus on women who already have an income-generating
and hunger. Second, our interviews with loan recipients activity neither does it emphasize a strong supervisory role
revealed that most of the women who hitherto were not for loan managers. Rather it relies on mutual trust and
engaged in any business activity but managed to start one after the joint liability clause to ensure that borrowers use their
receiving the loan were actually doing so for the first time. loans for income-earning activities and to pay monthly
Although exposure to income-earning activities in a single interest from the income earned. Unfortunately, these
generation might not be sufficient to wipe away long periods management mechanisms are not always effective as loans
of cultural conditioning, for these women, the fact that their are rarely monitored. Thus lack of focus on women who
involvement in the NGO’s micro-lending program has enabled are already engaged in viable economic activities, breakdown
them to be involved in economic activities that might generate of the monitoring mechanism within the household
income was itself empowering. economy, low level of loan investment supervision, and
limited household resources, often intermingle to force
It is very good that I got this loan. I used to stay at home
borrowers – who are usually faced with other economic
and do nothing. Things were very hard, but now, at least I
necessities – into diverting loans into uses other than those
feel better because at the end of the day I will get something
sanctioned by the organization.
[money] from my pito business to support my family
(Woman, IDI).
Of course the exact use of the loan should not be so relevant
if the purpose of World Vision’s microcredit program was
Table 3 shows the patterns of loan utilization among the 62% only to enhance women’s access to finance. However, given
of the women who were engaged in some form of business that many loan recipients do not usually have any form of
activity after they received the loan. Most women invested business activity before receiving the loan, and the fact that
their loans in one of ten different economic activities including the program emphasizes the investment of loans in income-
pito brewing and food crop farming. Our research however generating activities, an outright use of loan funds for such
revealed two problematic issues as regards women’s loan activities as school fees or food clearly raises questions about
investment decisions. The first is that most women invested the appropriateness of extending loans to women to start-up
their loans in activities that yielded little profit. In our discus- new businesses. Our interviews with women suggest that in a
sions with loan staff, it was clear that World Vision simply context such as the Nadowli district where economic opportu-
assumed that there were profitable income-earning ventures nities are limited and hunger and poverty very rife, a focus on
out there that rural women could engage in if only these women who are already involved in income-generating activi-
women had access to finance. However, our interviews with ties has a better chance of succeeding due to the high potential
women found that male dominance in the local economic for small business start-ups to fail, and the fungibility of loans
sphere tended to push most women into less profitable eco- among starters.
nomic activities such as those described in Table 3. But some
women also reported that they invested their loans in these (ii) Impact on women’s income and contribution to household
types of activities because of the small size of the loan they welfare
received. That women are investing their loans in low-profit Figure 1 is a representation of women’s own valuation of
businesses suggests that the prospects of paying the 20% inter- their income status since accessing the credit, while Table 4
est on loans could be unrealistic. Indeed, as we show below, shows the distribution of changes in income between women
 MICROCREDIT: EMPOWERMENT AND DISEMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN GHANA 341

say I am bad. So in the past I have had to take part of the ini-
tial loan capital to go and pay the interest. I have even bor-
rowed from two of my friends to pay the interest. Now I am
in big debt (Woman, IDI).
Clearly, our findings here suggest that microcredit programs
for women are likely to have a more positive impact on house-
hold incomes if such programs are targeted at women already
engaged in some business venture.

(iii) Control over loan and income from funded enterprises

Figure 1. Credit impact on women’s income.
World Vision Ghana provides credit to women on the
assumption that women will – individually or collectively –
who already had an income-generating activity before receiv- exercise full control over both the loan and the investments
ing the loan and those who did not. These results are the out- that they make. However, in reality, this assumption usually
come of a question that asked women to describe their income does not apply. Findings show that in more than half of the
after they had accessed the loan. cases women had no control over funded enterprises. Figure
Figure 1 indicates that 41% (94), 43% (99), and 16% (37) of 2 illustrates this. Forty per cent of the women sampled indi-
the women sampled, respectively, reported that their income cated that they exercised no control over the loan they
levels have improved, worsened and not changed. Table 4 received, including funded enterprises as well as incomes and
however shows that majority of the women who had assets that may accrue. Only 16% were able to fully control
income-earning activities before receiving the loan reported their loans and enterprises while some 21% and 23% exercised
increases (49) or no change (16) in income. On the contrary, significant and partial control, respectively.
majority of our respondents who reported decreases in Our in-depth engagement with participants revealed that
incomes (97) were women who did not have any income-earn- while women are the loan recipients, decisions about how
ing business before accessing the loan. Our interviews found these loans are used and who might exercise control, take
that most women who reported improvements in their income place within the household economy. In the study communi-
had invested their loans in one productive activity or the other ties, the household generally operates as both a cooperative
or had expanded their existing businesses and were making productive unit and political entity where economic decisions
monthly profits of between GH¢1 and GH¢10. Although these are made and power and control is exercised. Focus group dis-
women admitted that the income they were earning were cussions with women found that in the majority of cases men
rather meagre due in part to the low profit-yielding nature (mostly husbands) controlled the loans and funded enterprises
of their investments, most were particularly proud of the in whole or in part as well as supplied installments for the
financial contribution they now make to their family welfare monthly interest payment. Two main reasons explain this.
and children’s education. A few of these women reported The first is related to the fact that in more than half of the
how they were using their loans and the incomes accruing cases, husbands and other male relations in the household
from their loan investment to provide better quality and quan- made the initial decision for a woman to join the credit pro-
tity food, pay expenses of their children’s education and cloth- gram by either sending or influencing her to become a member
ing needs. of World Vision Ghana’s micro-lending program. In a few
However, for the majority of women whose incomes wors- cases, women gave graphic accounts of how their husbands
ened or remained stagnant, the situation is opposite. Such not only asked them to join but also literally forced them to
women were found either not to be making any profits from join in order to acquire funds for their (husbands) usage. In
their investments or to have lost the initial loan capital to part, this explains why husbands will either completely seize
non-productive ventures such as direct consumption. For the the loan or exercise total control over the loan and funded
majority of this category of respondents, not only were they
not able to contribute to their family welfare but also they
found it extremely difficult paying the monthly interest on
their loans. These women painfully tell of how they often have
to borrow from friends and other moneylenders to pay the
monthly interest on their loan in order to avoid defaulting
and escape the social pressures and shame that comes with
defaulting.
. . .Right now I really don’t know what to tell you. . .I don’t
know because this loan has made things difficult for me. My
business is not doing very well but you know. . .every month
I have to pay interest. I don’t have the money to always do
that. But I don’t want to default in paying the loan. . .they will Figure 2. Women’s control over loans and funded enterprises.

Table 4. Distribution of changes in income after loan

Participant categories Income increased Income decreased No change in income Total
after loan after loan after loan
Already had an income-generating activity 49 2 16 67
Didn’t have an income-generating activity 45 97 21 163
Total 94 99 37 230
342 WORLD DEVELOPMENT

enterprises. Indeed, there were several accounts of husbands principal components of empowerment. While it is less clear
forcefully taking away income or selling out assets acquired exactly what types of decisions and what degree of participa-
by women from their loan investment. tion and influence should be classified as empowerment,
The second reason why very few women were able to exer- this study records marginal increase in women’s levels of
cise control over the loans and funded enterprises is that exist- participation in making important household decisions after
ing patriarchal and socio-cultural norms restrict women’s access to credit. Table 5 compares respondents’ participation
ability to own or exercise control over assets. In the existing in household decision making before and after their access
socio-cultural milieu of the Nadowli district, women may to the loan.
own assets through inheritance or self-purchase. However, Of particular significance is the general drop in the percent-
fewer women are able to claim ownership and control over age of women who were hitherto non-participants in house-
these assets because men usually exercise management and hold decision-making from 50.4 to 23. Of course correlation
use rights even if it is the woman who acquires the assets leg- here does not mean causality. However, based on women’s
ally. One participant makes the point: own accounts, their involvement in World Vision Ghana’s
micro-lending program appears to have contributed to an
. . .Control assets in the house? Don’t you know our tradition? increase in the number who now participated in making vari-
When a man marries a woman, he owns and controls her, her
ous household decisions. One woman recounted:
children, and everything the woman has! How will a woman
own and control anything in a man’s house? (Woman, IDI). Ah World Vision! World Vision has made it possible for me to
have a say in whatever happens in the house. Before then, I
In focus groups, some participants related personal accounts had no say. My husband never respected my opinions
about how they willingly handed over their loans, assets, (Woman, IDI).
and resources to their male counterparts thinking that men
are better in handling and managing monetary transactions. Accordingly, if for nothing at all, and even if they (women)
Todd (1995) suggests that since men’s enterprises are often ceded control over their loans and funded enterprises to their
more profitable than women’s, investing loans in men’s activ- husbands – voluntarily or forcefully – the fact that they
ities may be a rational strategy. While this may be true, the (women) have become means through which new resources
women in our study reported how men often misappropriate (loan funds) could be pulled into the household has greatly
these resources or utilize them in a manner that greatly disfa- increased their status and bargaining power within the house-
vours them (women). hold.
In our interviews, women’s qualitative accounts suggested
that lending to women who have full or significant control (v) Credit and women’s relative freedom from domination and
over proceeds from their loans was more likely to enhance abuse
their incomes and empowerment, while lending to those who While World Vision Ghana’s credit program might have
have no control over the loan and income from their invest- had marginal empowerment benefits in terms of women’s par-
ments only make things worse. ticipation in household decision-making, domination and
abuse against women borrowers have escalated in all study vil-
I think the loan is only good for those women who take care of lages. Our in-depth interviews with women revealed that the
themselves. . .I mean women who are in-charge of their busi-
increase in abuse came from two main sources: group mem-
nesses and can determine what they want to use the loan for.
bers and husbands.
For others like myself who do not control how the loan should
Abuse from group members emanated from the program’s
be used, and our husbands determine everything, things are
really not good (Woman, IDI).
reliance on the joint-liability condition. Because of the joint-
liability condition, the credibility of a particular women-bor-
rower-group to World Vision Ghana and the potential for
(iv) Credit and women’s involvement in major family decision- new loans for its members is often greatly jeopardized when
making even one member in the group fails to maintain regular
Access to credit and participation in income-generating monthly payment of interests. Indeed, in the event that one
activities are assumed to strengthen women’s bargaining posi- member delays payments or totally defaults, all the other
tion within the household, thereby allowing them to influence group members who paid their interests in a timely manner
a greater number of strategic decisions (Hashemi et al., 1996). must wait until such a time that every member in the group
In poor Ghanaian communities in particular, men’s domina- pays up. This often generates enormous conflict among group
tion over women is strongest within the household. Women’s members as pressure is often exerted on defaulting members to
ability to participate and influence decisions that affect their pay. Several women borrowers in our study lamented over
lives at the household level is therefore considered one of the how other group members used moral coercion, verbal

Table 5. Women’s participation in household decision-making before and after access to loan
Decision type Participation Participation Percent Percent Change in
before loan after loan before loan after loan percentage
Sale of family land 13 23 5.7 10.0 4.3 (+ve)
Sale of family livestock 27 35 11.7 15.2 3.5 (+ve)
Use of household income 30 50 13.0 21.7 8.7 (+ve)
Schooling of children 19 31 8.3 13.5 5.2 (+ve)
Sending family member for medical care 17 28 7.4 12.2 4.8 (+ve)
Giving out daughter/son in marriage 8 10 3.5 4.3 0.8 (+ve)
None 116 53 50.4 23.0 27.4 ( ve)
Total 230 230 100.0 100.0
 MICROCREDIT: EMPOWERMENT AND DISEMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN GHANA 343

aggression and physical assault to compel them to pay their the process, the wrath of angry husbands who feel their
monthly interest. authority is being threatened by their wife’s behavior.
Have I had any problems? Yes. . .Yes. Recently, I was almost Are you asking whether we have had any problems with our
wounded at the borehole! Why?. . .because when it was time husbands since we were given the loan? That one. . .I can per-
to pay the interest on my loan, I didn’t have money. So on sonally say I have had a lot. Every now and then my husband
the day of interest payment, all my group members went to would fight me. This happened anytime I asked him to pay me
pay except me. In fact I was busy going from one market to back monies he has taken from my business. I really don’t
the other at that time hoping that I would get the money. know, but any time I asked, he would just be angry. . .he would
But when I returned to the village, the group leader and other insult me and if I asked further questions he would just beat
members confronted me to pay the interest. I told them I me up. (Woman, FGD).
didn’t have the money yet, but they would not listen to me.
They used very bad words on me . . . very abusive language In this way, our findings here sharply contradict one study on
and hurled insults on me. Some said I was lazy; others said I the Grameen Bank which found that credit programs reduced
was very irresponsible; and some even threatened to beat me domestic violence by channeling resources to families through
if I failed to pay. . .and there are several others like me in this women (Schuler, Hashemi, & Riley, 1997). They are however
village who also feel this pressure and suffer this abuse because consistent with those of Rahman’s (1999) study in the Tangail
they are unable to pay (Woman, IDI). region of Bangladesh where abuse against women borrowers
was found to have escalated following their access to credit.
Others tell of how their peers violently confiscated their sale- For most of the women surveyed in this paper, abuse against
able household items and personal assets including cooking them within the household furthers their disempowerment – a
pots and sold them out in order to collect monthly installment. development that is complete anathema to the original intent
What makes the situation worse according to most accounts is and purpose of World Vision’s micro-lending program.
the fact that very often, the confiscation and abuse take place
in the public sphere such as in the market. This brings shame, (vi) Credit and women’s economic dependence on husband
embarrassment and emotional trauma to victims and their Women’s economic independence is another major factor
household. Clearly, these are the hidden costs of the Gram- that can enhance their empowerment. Traditionally, women
een-style group liability approach; but perhaps without such in the study area are engaged in household activities that are
enforcements too the group methodology would not work non-wage earning such as working in their husbands’ farms
and women would not have access to the loans because the and caring for children. This renders them economically
program would not be sustainable if clients did not repay. In dependent on their husbands and other male kin. World
this regard, it is worth pointing out that the ways in which Vision Ghana is of the opinion that if women had opportuni-
the groups enforce the joint liability makes the loans not ties for gainful employment outside the household through
entirely as collateral-free as they appear. Given that the groups their access to credit, their contribution to household wellbe-
are largely able to enforce the joint liability condition among ing would help reduce household poverty as well as reduce
themselves – loan repayment performance rate was estimated women’s overall economic dependence on their husbands.
to be above 65% – we would argue that the NGO does not In our research, women’s economic independence was eval-
even have to impose any collateral on loans. uated both before and after their involvement with the loan
But it is not only women borrowers who perpetrate abuse on program. The results are presented in Table 6.
defaulting group members. Within the household too, the Generally, women’s access to credit appears to have a very
majority of the loan recipients interviewed said they experience limited effect on their dependence on the earnings of their hus-
both physical and verbal assaults of some kind from their hus- bands or other relatives. Apart from food purchases and
bands and other male guardians, albeit for different reasons. expenditures from payment of children school fees, which
Findings here suggest that abuse against women borrowers experience marginal decline in terms of the number of women
results mainly from disagreement over loan use or control. depending on their husbands or other kinsmen earnings,
As argued earlier, men control the management and use of women’s economic dependence has increased for the rest of
most loans that women bring into the household. But before the evaluated variables. Qualitative analysis identified two
men are able to establish full management or use control, main reasons why this is the case. First is the limited control
abuse is often involved. The incidence of domestic abuse women have over their loan and funded enterprises. Generally,
against women loan borrowers arises as a result of some husbands control women’s loans and funded enterprises. Con-
women challenging the legitimacy and/or propriety of men’s sequently, not only do women depend on their husbands for
attempt to exercise management and use rights over loans the supply of installments to pay their monthly interests, but
and funded enterprises. In the majority of the cases, respon- they have also become chronically dependent on the same hus-
dents reported that women questioned their husbands’ man- bands for procuring certain basic necessities and personal
agement or use of the loan or funded enterprise, incurring in effects.

Table 6. Women’s economic dependence on husband’s/kin’s earnings before and after access to loan
Expenditure/purchase type Dependence on husband’s/kin’s Dependence on husband’s/kin’s Percent Percent Change in
earnings before loan earnings after loan before loan after loan Percentage
Food 205 196 89.0 85.0 4 (+ve)
Clothing 190 197 83.0 86.0 3 ( ve)
Medicine 198 201 86.0 87.0 1 ( ve)
Jewelry 155 174 67.0 76.0 9 ( ve)
Child school fees 223 187 97.0 81.0 6 (+ve)
Hair cream and other body accessories 148 163 64.0 71.0 7 ( ve)
Ko kuo 98 119 43.0 52.0 9 ( ve)
344 WORLD DEVELOPMENT

I think things have gone from bad to worse. I used to ask him little control over the use of loan funds and are therefore no
[referring to husband] for money to buy ingredients for making better off due to receiving credit; while some women are sub-
soup, clothing and other things. But now, I have to even ask jected to harassment and abuse due to their indebtedness
for more. . .money to pay the interest on the loan. (Woman, and inability to repay loans, and are therefore worse off.
IDI). Our findings suggest that those women who became more
The second reason is that the income-generating activities that empowered as a result of their access to credit were women
are primarily controlled by women such as pito brewing typi- who either were already engaged in some business venture
cally yield modest income compared with the earnings of men before receiving the loan or they exercised full or significant
in wage labor. In this vein, most women are not self-sufficient control over proceeds from their loans. On the contrary,
in terms of personal income and therefore still have to depend women borrowers who became vulnerable and even disem-
on the earnings of their male counterparts to make various powered were those who either received loans to start-up
purchases and meet different household expenditures. new businesses but who actually failed to do so due to loss
of loans to other unapproved loan uses such as direct con-
(vii) Credit and women’s mobility and self-confidence/assertive- sumption, or those who had no control over investments
ness and earnings from their loans.
Fernando and Porter (2002) have argued that increasing Of course, these results must be interpreted with the under-
women’s mobility can empower them to exercise greater con- standing that identifying microcredit impact on women
trol over their lives by increasing their access to markets, edu- empowerment is a rather problematic enterprise due to the
cation and information. We therefore evaluated the effects of fungibility of credit, non-randomness in program participation
microcredit on women’s social and economic mobility and (selection bias), and non-randomness of program placement
how they promote women’s self-confidence or assertiveness (Khandker, 1998). Moreover, it might be too ambitious to
in the Nadowli district. Findings from qualitative interviews expect that years of male domination over women will be
with women suggest that prior to their involvement with the removed by a few years of women involvement in a microcred-
loan scheme, most women were consigned to the private it program. Nevertheless, the evidence presented in this paper
sphere and the affairs of the home. This heavily restricted clearly exposes the gulf that can exist between the vision for
women’s mobility and self confidence to be actively involved promoting women’s access to microcredit and its actual oper-
in market transactions, thereby providing them with limited ation and impact on women empowerment, and called into
opportunity and ability to meet different people and gain question some of the specific methodology used by World
new experiences for their empowerment. However, many of Vision Ghana as well as the general notion that microcredit
the women-loan-recipients reported several important changes empowers women.
after they joined the scheme. One participant recalled: Our findings show that the impact of any microcredit pro-
gram depends on the socio-economic and cultural contexts
Me. . .before I had this loan to start my pito brewing business I in which it is implemented, and that women might experience
was the home type, poor and very timid. Anytime I wanted to both great advantages and disadvantages from accessing
go anywhere, I needed to ask my husband for money, and any- credit, depending on their situations and whether they are able
time he said he didn’t have money, it means I couldn’t go. But to service their debt or not. In some cases, access to credit
now that I am doing this business and I am making small might be the only input needed on the road to women empow-
money, I feel very confident, I don’t fear. . .I can go to Nadowli erment. At the same time, our findings also suggest that in a
market, Sankana market, Tangasie market, Bussie market, and culture in which women have little control over their loans
even Wa (the regional Capital) without depending on him to and income from their investments, it is a singularly poor envi-
give me lorry fare (Woman, FGD). ronment to give out credit to women to start-up new busi-
Also, few women noted that through their travel to do busi- nesses. This would suggest that World Vision’s and other
ness or participate in weekly group meetings, not only is their similar microcredit schemes need to revise their lending
mobility greatly enhanced, but also these movements do ‘open approach to focus on a number of things. First, it might be
their eyes and ears to the outside world’. They therefore gain better to focus on clients already having an income-generating
exposure to new ideas as well as opportunities for their activity that generates sufficient income to repay the loan. This
empowerment. Furthermore, by participating in weekly would not only help loan recipients to grow their existing busi-
meetings, these women are able to acquire a degree of self- nesses and generate more income, but it would also ensure the
confidence. sustainability of the schemes themselves. Second, it might also
At the same time however, a substantial number of borrow- be useful to first screen and determine which clients have ade-
ers noted that sometimes the shame and embarrassment quate control to be able to use a loan productively. This might
associated with defaulting and having to be confronted by require moving beyond individual women to focusing also on
other borrowers, prevented some women from moving into families and communities to redress powerlessness and gender-
the public sphere. For such women, access to credit has based discrimination against women.
actually profoundly limited their mobility beyond the home. But in addition to the above recommendations, the loan
size, timing of initial disbursement, and monitoring, are issues
that must be relooked at. Our study indicates that small loan
6. CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS sizes, inappropriate timing of loan disbursement, and general
laxity in the supervision of how disbursed loans are managed
The extension of microcredit to women has the potential to within the household economy led not only to the use of credit
impact powerfully on women’s empowerment. Our aim in this for untended purposes, but also to an increase in the debt-
paper was to examine the empowerment effects of the micro- liability of borrowers. Also the low profit-yielding nature of
lending operation of an NGO-managed microcredit program women’s investment activities contributed to undermining
to poor women in a rural district of Ghana. Findings show the spaces for women empowerment, while struggles over loan
that some women are empowered along several dimensions use and control over loan-funded enterprises within the
as a result of their access to loans; several other women have household as well as increasing debt-liability of individual
 MICROCREDIT: EMPOWERMENT AND DISEMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN GHANA 345

borrowers created new forms of abuse, dominance, and con- experience due to other group members having to cover for
trol over borrowers. These findings from our research clearly them out of their own pocket.
support the need to increase the sizes of loans to levels that are In conclusion, empowerment cannot always be assumed to
sufficient enough to be invested in high profit-yielding income- be an automatic outcome of women’s access to microcredit
generating ventures. Similarly, we recommend that the timing particularly in contexts such as Ghana where women still face
of loan disbursement should be changed to be in a season considerable socio-economic disadvantages relative to men.
where economic opportunities and food are abundant rather Although microcredit could be a first step in a process that
than scarce, while effective loan monitoring mechanisms could take 2–3 generations, it is unrealistic to expect women’s
should be put in place to address the high potential for loan access to microcredit to instantly change a pattern of male
fungibility. domination as well as other social and cultural conditions –
Finally, and with regards to how the joint liability condition that may have existed for time immemorial – that deprive
is enforced when one group member is unable to pay the inter- women of control over their economic activities and the pro-
est in time, we recommend that groups should be encouraged ceeds thereof. However with adequate loan size, appropriate
to build-up their own emergency savings/funds through small timing, effective monitoring, and better screening methods that
contributions at their regular meetings. Such funds could be avoid giving loans to those who are not likely to be in a posi-
loaned out (and to be replaced later) to group members who tion to repay through the determination of which women have
might have legitimate reasons for being unable to repay at inadequate control to be able to use a loan productively,
the time of collection. This could reduce the harassment, women’s access to microcredit can enhance their empower-
abuse, and seizure of assets that insolvent borrowers often ment.

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