MICRO-CREDIT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN IN MICRO-CREDIT ACTIVITIES IN THE KASSENA NANKANA DISTRICT OF GHANA

Abstract

The poverty situation in Ghana has placed women in a vulnerable position. Women are known worldwide, to be poorer than men due to socio-economic factors. Women often have little access to formal education, decision-making, skills training and support services as well as accessibility to economic resources, among others. But women have been shown to be more reliable at managing credit, running businesses and directing resources to families. In light of this, there is a widespread of microcredit schemes across the country to help alleviate poverty particularly among women. Primary and secondary data were obtained from 82 loan beneficiaries in order to assess their performance. A simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents from five communities; namely, Navrongo, Paga, Biu, Chiana and Kandiga. The study revealed that, women beneficiaries who channelled their loans into their businesses made profit and were able to save and improve their livelihoods. The interest rate charged was rather too high and beneficiaries had to wait too long for the loans to be disbursed to them. The time for repayment was also seen as too short. Most of the women beneficiaries were not given any training on loon management. The conclusion is that micro-credit is an important tool for poverty alleviation in the district. It is recommended that organisations responsible for the disbursement of credit should complement their efforts with the training of beneficiaries even as interest rates are reduced to enable timely repayments.