Contribution of microfinance credit to poverty reduction among the rural women in Keiyo north sub-county, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

The main purpose of microfinance credit programme is to break the vicious cycle of poverty among the rural women by providing them with capital. Poverty is a global problem; more than 1.3 billion people worldwide live below the poverty line, 70% of them being women. In Keiyo North Sub-County, 48% of the population lives below the poverty line with women constituting 65% of those living below the poverty line. However, few rural women (220) in Keiyo North Sub-County participate in the microfinance credit programme despite the fact that Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) operates in all the 13 sub-locations in the district. This study sought to investigate the contribution of microfinance credit on poverty reduction among the rural women in Keiyo North Sub-County. The study used a descriptive survey design to collect data. The target population was 220 rural women participating in 17 groups in KWFT microfinance credit programme from which a sample of 130 rural women was drawn. An open and close-ended questionnaire was used. A pilot study was conducted among the 30 KWFT rural women participants and a Cronbach’s Apha coefficient reliability of 0.71 was attained. The validity of the instrument was ascertained by experts from Agricultural Education and Extension in the Faculty of Education and Community studies and Faculty of Environmental Science of Egerton University. Data was analyzed using chisquare α=0.05 significance level. Results indicated that microfinance credit programme has improved household level of income among the rural women in Keiyo North Sub-County. Microfinance credit has enabled rural women to afford their children’s education and acquire new assets for their households. The rural women can also afford health care services for their families as a result of participating in microfinance credit programme. The study recommends that Kenya Woman Finance Trust (KWFT) officials should encourage more rural women to participate in microfinance credit programmes to increase levels of income and savings in their households. They should also make a follow up on the 0.8% of the rural women who could not afford healthcare services even after recording an increase in their income. The Members of County Assemblies (MCA’s) and the Chiefs of the 13 locations where KWFT operate should sensitize rural women to participate in MFI’s programmes in order to reduce their poverty levels