Microcredit: Empowerment and disempowerment of rural women in Ghana

John Kuumuori Ganle, Kwadwo Afriyie, Alexander Yao Segbefia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

177 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)335-345
Number of pages11
JournalWorld Development
Volume66
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Disempowerment
  • Empowerment
  • Ghana
  • Microcredit
  • Women

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