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Microcredit and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Some Evidence from Moshi, Tanzania

Received: 30 September 2018     Accepted: 25 October 2018     Published: 30 November 2018
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Abstract

In Tanzania patriarchy prevails and women continue to be relatively disadvantaged compared to men. As a result women position is low, are poorer, have low education and lack self-esteem. Microcredit has shown to be an effective tool for combating these diseases of the poor, but unlike other developing countries its potential has not been fully explored in Tanzania. This population based cross sectional study explores the impact of microcredit programs participation on women’s empowerment. Logistic regression was done to examine association between participation and indicators of women empowerment. Crude and adjusted odds ratios, P-values and 95% CI were computed to show the association. A total of 900 non elderly women were enrolled, participation was found to be significantly associated with age (p<0.001), level of income (p<0.001) and number of living children (p<0.002). Majority of the study participants had primary education (85.1%) and unemployed (92.1%). Low income earners were 40.2%, program participants were 38% mostly in middle level income group (57.7%). Logistic regression to 18 empowerment indicators revealed a significant association at 5% level between program participation and empowerment. We demonstrated a positive association and concluded the strategy travels well and can empower women in Tanzania. However, efforts are needed to make the programs reach the most disadvantaged.

Published in Science Journal of Business and Management (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11
Page(s) 66-73
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Microcredit, Microfinance, Women Empowerment

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Christopher Mtamakaya, Damian Jeremia, Sia Msuya, Babill Stray-Pedersen. (2018). Microcredit and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Some Evidence from Moshi, Tanzania. Science Journal of Business and Management, 6(3), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11

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    ACS Style

    Christopher Mtamakaya; Damian Jeremia; Sia Msuya; Babill Stray-Pedersen. Microcredit and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Some Evidence from Moshi, Tanzania. Sci. J. Bus. Manag. 2018, 6(3), 66-73. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11

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    AMA Style

    Christopher Mtamakaya, Damian Jeremia, Sia Msuya, Babill Stray-Pedersen. Microcredit and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Some Evidence from Moshi, Tanzania. Sci J Bus Manag. 2018;6(3):66-73. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11,
      author = {Christopher Mtamakaya and Damian Jeremia and Sia Msuya and Babill Stray-Pedersen},
      title = {Microcredit and Its Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Some Evidence from Moshi, Tanzania},
      journal = {Science Journal of Business and Management},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {66-73},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20180603.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjbm.20180603.11},
      abstract = {In Tanzania patriarchy prevails and women continue to be relatively disadvantaged compared to men. As a result women position is low, are poorer, have low education and lack self-esteem. Microcredit has shown to be an effective tool for combating these diseases of the poor, but unlike other developing countries its potential has not been fully explored in Tanzania. This population based cross sectional study explores the impact of microcredit programs participation on women’s empowerment. Logistic regression was done to examine association between participation and indicators of women empowerment. Crude and adjusted odds ratios, P-values and 95% CI were computed to show the association. A total of 900 non elderly women were enrolled, participation was found to be significantly associated with age (p<0.001), level of income (p<0.001) and number of living children (p<0.002). Majority of the study participants had primary education (85.1%) and unemployed (92.1%). Low income earners were 40.2%, program participants were 38% mostly in middle level income group (57.7%). Logistic regression to 18 empowerment indicators revealed a significant association at 5% level between program participation and empowerment. We demonstrated a positive association and concluded the strategy travels well and can empower women in Tanzania. However, efforts are needed to make the programs reach the most disadvantaged.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AU  - Christopher Mtamakaya
    AU  - Damian Jeremia
    AU  - Sia Msuya
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    AB  - In Tanzania patriarchy prevails and women continue to be relatively disadvantaged compared to men. As a result women position is low, are poorer, have low education and lack self-esteem. Microcredit has shown to be an effective tool for combating these diseases of the poor, but unlike other developing countries its potential has not been fully explored in Tanzania. This population based cross sectional study explores the impact of microcredit programs participation on women’s empowerment. Logistic regression was done to examine association between participation and indicators of women empowerment. Crude and adjusted odds ratios, P-values and 95% CI were computed to show the association. A total of 900 non elderly women were enrolled, participation was found to be significantly associated with age (p<0.001), level of income (p<0.001) and number of living children (p<0.002). Majority of the study participants had primary education (85.1%) and unemployed (92.1%). Low income earners were 40.2%, program participants were 38% mostly in middle level income group (57.7%). Logistic regression to 18 empowerment indicators revealed a significant association at 5% level between program participation and empowerment. We demonstrated a positive association and concluded the strategy travels well and can empower women in Tanzania. However, efforts are needed to make the programs reach the most disadvantaged.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 3
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Author Information
  • Institute of Clinical Medicine, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway

  • Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania

  • Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania

  • Institute of Clinical Medicine, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway

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