Effectiveness of Microcredit Fund Scheme in Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in Tehran Province

محورهای موضوعی : Agricultural Extension

Samira Saadat Salehi Abri ¹ (Former Graduate of Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran)
Mehrdad Niknami ² (Assistant Professor of Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran)

تاریخ دریافت : 1396/07/02 تاریخ پذیرش : 1397/02/07 تاریخ انتشار : 1397/03/11

کلید واژه: rural women, empowerment, microcredits,

چکیده مقاله :

Microcredit scheme is an important poverty alleviation method that facilitates the development of rural communities by creating and developing income-generating activities, especially for low-income women. The present study was aimed to examine the effectiveness of the microcredit fund scheme on the economic empowerment of rural women in Tehran Province, Iran. It was carried out by a survey methodology. The statistical population was composed of 461 women who were members of 15 rural microcredit funds in Tehran Province in 2014. The sample size was determined by Krejcie and Morgan table and the population was sampled by the proportionate simple random method. Finally, 210 questionnaires were collected. The results revealed significant differences in economic capability between member women with different educational levels. Also, rural women’s economic capability differed significantly in income, saving power, saving management, initiation of income-generating lasting occupations, financial independence, purchase power, possession of vocational skills to start and continue a production activity, and economic skills before and after membership in rural microcredit funds.

منابع و مأخذ:

1. Chowdhur,Y. M. J. A. (2009). Microcredit, micro-enterprises, and self-employment of women: experience from the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Paper presented at the FAO-IFAD-ILO Workshop on Gaps, trends and current research in gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: differentiated pathways out of poverty Rome, 31 March - 2 April: 1-20.


2. EBRD. (2015). The impact of microcredit evidence from across the world. Produced by the Office of the Chief Economist: 1-4


3. Ganle, J. K., Afriye, K. and Segbefia, A. Y. (2015). Microcredit: Empowerment and Disempowerment of Rural Women in Ghana. World Development, 66: 335–345


4. Graflund, F. (2013). The Impact of Microcrediton Women’s Empowerment. A Case Study of Microcredit in the Tangail District, Bangladesh. Department of Economics at the University of Lund. No. 225 .ISSN 0283-1589:1-65


5. Kamareyee, M. (2010). Investigation of effects of Micro-credit funds on social and economic empowerment of rural women) Case Study: Tmysyan and Kaman villages in the city of Damavand. Master's Thesis, Rural Development, College of Social Sciences, Tehran University. Unpublished document.


6. Kireti, G. W and Sakwa, M. (2014).   Socio-Economic Effects of Microfinance Services on Women: The Case of Rosewo Microfinance, Nakuru County, Kenya.  International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 3(3):43-59.


7. Kumar, D., Hossain, A and Gope, M, C. (2013). Role of Micro Credit Program in Empowering Rural Women in Bangladesh: A Study on Grameen Bank Bangladesh Limited. Asian Business Review, 3(6): 114-120.


8. Luan, D. X and Bauer, S. (2016). Does credit access affect household income homogeneously across different groups of credit recipients? Evidence from rural Vietnam. Journal of Rural Studies, 47:186-203


9. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture. (2014). Microcredit Fund for rural women. Available at: http://nrw.areeo.ac.ir/HomePage.aspx?TabID=21823&Site=nrw.areeo.ac&Lang=fa-IR

10. Najafi, A. (2005). Microfinance: international experience and development facilities in Iran. Journal of Agricultural Bank. 3:1-2.

11. Nazari, A and Adeli , J. (2011). Comparison of the effectiveness of microcredit to rural community groups in the mountainous and plain areas of the city Āzādshahr. Journal of Geography. 9(4): 191-214

12. Ouma, C. O and Rambo, C. M. (2013). The Impact of Microcredit on Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprise: Evidence from Kenya. Global Journalof Business Research, 7(5):57-69.

13. Roxin, H,. Berkmüller, H,. Koller, P. J,. Lawonn, J,. Pooya, N and Schappert, J. (2010). Economic Empowerment of Women through Microcredit. The case of the “Microfinance Investment and Technical Assistance Facility (MITAF).Humboldt Universitätzu Berlin SLE – Postgraduate Studies on International Cooperation: 1-143

1. 14.  Saadi, H. and Arabmazr, A. (2005). Investigation of the status of the Agricultural Bank in support of women heads of rural households. Journal of Agricultural Bank .3: 2-5.

15. Saei, A. A and Valipour, S. (2011). Factors affecting on empowerment of women to participate in the social development , a case study in Lorestan province. Journal Behavior Sciences. 2:67-101

16. Schroeder, E. (2014). The Impact of Microcredit Borrowing on Household Consumption in Bangladesh. Department of Economics, 303 Ballard Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis:1-38

17. Soroushmerh, H. (2009). Investigation indexes and strategies for the economic empowerment of rural women in the Hamedan County. Master's Thesis, Rural Development, College of Social Sciences, Tehran University. Unpublished document.

18. Sultana, S and Hasan, S. S. (2010). Impact of Micro-Credit on Economic Empowerment of Rural Women.The Agriculturists. A Scientific Journal of Krishi Foundation.  8(2): 43-49.

19. Terano, R. Mohamed, Z. and Jusri, H. (2015). Effectiveness of microcredit program and determinants of income among small business entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research: 5(22): 1-14

20. UN. (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. General Assembly. Seventieth session. Agenda items 15 and 116:1-35.