Empowering Women through Self Help Groups led Microcredit: A Novel Initiative

Abstract

In this paper, an exploratory analysis is made to comprehend whether microcredit has empowered women by increasing their access to credit and if so to what extent and how. It is not only poverty alleviation, microcredit has empowered women by increasing their access to credit, inculcating banking habits and raising family income. It has been instrumental in pushing them out of debt trap. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) play a significant role on account of their capacity to meet the financial needs of the poor who are excluded from institutional finance due to lack of collateral. They include facilities such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low-income households and their micro-enterprises. The concept of ‘enhanced agency’ Sen (1995) that refers to people’s ability to act on behalf of goals that matter to them is used to understand women empowerment through participation in microfinance. This paper is the report of a study carried out at Kalliyoor panchayat in Nemom block, Thiruvananthapuram, with a sample size of 110. The study relies on quantitative as well as qualitative research tools.