ASSESSMENT OF MICRO-CREDIT FINANCING AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN ONDO WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the micro-credit financing and women empowerment in Ondo west LGA, Ondo state. While the specific objective are to: determine whether there is a significant relationship between micro credit financing and the financial empowerment of women in Ondo West LGA, Ondo state and determine the extent to which micro credit financing is related to the societal influence of women in Ondo West LGA, Ondo state. A structured questionnaire was used as basis to investigate a representative sampling of 250 respondents representing women who are beneficiaries of microcredit financing scheme. Frequencies, tables, percentages, relative importance index, mean and standard deviation were used to present data while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses. The research found that most of the customers of microfinance institutions were in the informal employment had some years of business experience before joining the self -help groups where they were empowered and thus were the major beneficiaries and target of microfinance institutions as those from formal employment had access to conventional banking institutions. The study found that there is a low and positive (r = 0.418) significant relationship between microcredit financing and the information at the disposal of the women, which can contribute to their level of empowerment. Microcredit has a weak and positive (r = 0.121) influence on the empowerment, financial empowerment and societal influence of women in Ondo West LGA, Ondo state. The study asserted that micro-credit access by the women in Ondo West LGA translated to greater societal influence and possible positive economic development. In addition, the researcher rejected the null hypotheses (p = 0.001, <0.01). Thus, the study concluded that the greater the amount of microcredit given to the women, the greater will be the resultant empowerment she will experience as a consequence of microcredit use. Therefore, the study recommended that the microcredit facilities should be given to the women so as to generated self-income, employment generation, asset building, productive investment, savings which led the socio-economic upliftment of rural women folk and empowered them particularly in the sphere of child education, leadership and entrepreneurship ability, technology adoption and decision making.