One of the important aims of MFIs is to reach women, and allow them access to resources which will empower them. Empowerment, however, is an elusive concept and also relative, which cannot be proven to exist in a standardised monitoring format (Pitamber, 1999). On the other hand it is true that many of the MFIs do reach women, but this is not a direct targeting strategy.
Recent data from discussions and interviews of MFIs in Ethiopia (field discussions July 2002)
have revealed that many MFIs have above 50% female clientele. Although at the regional level female outreach is still weak, these figures for MFI performance are impressive. However, further investigation revealed that the high female clientele was not a direct targeting strategy in the interests of gender equity. Discussions revealed that women were simply better clients than men.
Credit officers from the interviewed MFIs explained that firstly women did not demand high loan amounts, and therefore this did not pose a great risk for the MFI itself. Secondly, these women borrowers being normally risk averse were always punctual with their repayments. Thirdly, because the women were aware that they will need to borrow in the future from the same source they were very alert of the fact that they should maintain a good record with the MFI. Therefore, for MFIs and other micro-credit delivery mechanisms focusing on women as clients made better business sense and contributed to business profits and sustainability.
As mentioned earlier, MFIs are not necessarily welfare oriented and therefore they will promote those products which fit the needs of their “best customers”. Women in this case have proven to be very good customers and therefore those MFIs which have a majority female clientele do so not out of gender sensitive and equity promoting mind-set. From a gender analytical framework, not all the MFIs or their staff are always capable of pursuing gender equity strategies in their operations. Furthermore, the fact that more and more women are being targeted for micro-finance outreach within existing standardised operations procedures and policy, may indicate that poverty amongst women is likely to increase disproportionately, more so because of poverty implication of loan amounts, interest rates, repayments, etc. as mentioned above.
ECONOMIC RESEARCH PAPERS NO 74 (January 2003)
Factors Impeding the Poverty Reduction Capacity of Micro-credit: Some Field Observations from Malawi and Ethiopia by Sunita Pitamber
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