The role of savings and internal lending communities in Women’s economic empowerment: a case of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania
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Date
2019
Authors
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Women economic empowerment is increasingly viewed as one of key elements in poverty
reduction strategies. Position of women’s economic status in Tanzania has been low
compared to men in which about 60 percent of women in Tanzania have low economic
status. This study examined the contributions of Savings and Internal Lending
Communities (SILCs) towards improving women’s economic status. Specifically, the
study examined the main source of income among women, and examined challenges
facing women in SILC. The study also assessed the level of women economic
empowerment and examined the effect of SILC on women’s economic empowerment.
A total of 100 respondents were involved. Primary data were collected using
questionnaire which was administered to 100 respondents. Key informant interview Focus
Group Discussions were also conducted so as to triangulate information gathered from
survey. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze socio-demographic characteristics, the
main income generating activities performed by women and challenges facing women in
SILC. A Cumulative Empowerment Index (CWEEI) was computed to determine the
overall level of women’s economic empowerment. An ordinal logistic regression model
was used to analyze the contribution of SILC on women’s economic empowerment.
The findings show that majority of women in SILC are involved in petty trading as their
income generating activities. It was also found that half of women in the study area have
attained medium level of empowerment. In addition, duration in SILC, involvement in
IGAs and education were good predictors to women’s economic empowerment
(P<0.005). The findings revealed further that, failure to repay the loan on time and lack of
entrepreneurial/business management skills are the major constraints facing women.
Therefore, it is recommended that stakeholders and NGOs should encourage women to
join SILC.
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Keywords
Women’s economic empowerment, Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania, Communities