Exploring the Post-Covid pathway of microfinance on women’s empowerment

Abstract

Having access to microfinance institutions in Sri Lanka, Poor women in the country have opened up to diverse microfinance services and supported them in growing economically while enhancing gender equality, health, level of education, etc. Microfinance institutions provide both financial and non-financial services and it has a significant effect in eradicating poverty and empowering women. With the effect of the COVID-19 crisis, almost all the sectors were severely affected in every aspect and the poor women of the country was one of the key parties. Thus, the primary aim of this study is to explore the post-COVID pathway of Microfinance on Women's Empowerment. Concerning the study, Sri Lankan microfinance services can be classified into five categories: micro-credit, micro-savings, micro-insurance, business support, and skills development. This study focused on determining the effect of micro-credit, micro-savings, micro-insurance, and training on women's empowerment after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts a quantitative research methodology to explore the impact of microfinance on women's empowerment. An empirical investigation was carried out among a sample of 100 women selected in the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka who were receiving microfinance services and training programs. A self-administered questionnaire was the key data collection method, which had been built on a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed with the aid of the SPSS Statistical Package. Correlation and Multiple Regression analysis were the key statistical techniques used to test the hypothesis. The findings have confirmed that micro-credit, micro-savings, and training have a significant positive impact on women's empowerment after the COVID-19 crisis where micro-insurance was not statistically significant. Based on the results, training offered by microfinance institutions for these poor women to sharpen up their income-generating mechanisms from obtaining microfinance services has the highest impact in empowering them. Thus, the study contributes key microfinance factors to empower women economically, socially, and politically which would in turn create a social implication of eradicating poverty and economic development after the COVID-19 crisis.