Demographics Differences in the Microfinance Clients' Perception Towards Islamic Microfinance: The Case Of Nigeria

Abstract

Islamic microfinance plays a significant role in catering for less or underprivileged society such as small business owners, low-income earners, and the low individuals excluded by the former commercial or microfinance institutions due to their unstable and promised financial stand. This paper investigates the differences in the perception of microfinance clients' demographic characteristics towards Islamic microfinance. The convenience sampling technique was adopted to select the study sample in collecting data from the beneficiaries of the microfinance clients in Kwara state. A total of 400 data were obtained and analyzed on SPSS Version, 25 using descriptive analysis, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The findings indicate a statistically significant difference in the microfinance beneficiaries' perception in terms of their demographic region, age, marital status, religion, and education level. In contrast, no significant difference was found in terms of their gender and occupation. This study's findings provide empirical implications for the policymakers and microfinance institutions in segmenting and actualizing the microfinance beneficiaries' relative financial needs concerning their demographic characteristics.