Influence of Microfinance Banks on Rural Women’s Entrepreneurial Success in Oyo State

Abstract

This focus of this paper is centered on the extent to which rural women entrepreneurs can be used as a vital tool for economic development in the State when availed micro credit. The paper discussed the rate at which the micro savings from microfinance banks influenced rural Women’s entrepreneurial success in Oyo State. Two research questions were raised, two hypotheses were formulated and were tested at 0.05 level of significant. The study is premised on Gary Becker’s human capital theory of entrepreneurship which stipulates that all human behavior is based on the economics of self-interest of individuals which operate freely within the competitive market, and Dunford Chris classical theory of microfinance. The instrument for data collection was personal interview and questionnaire tagged: Influence of Microfinance Banks on Rural Women’s Entrepreneurial Success in Oyo State. This paper found that, rural women entrepreneurs significantly differ in their responses regarding extent to which micro credits influence their entrepreneurial success based on age grade. Also, the second finding revealed that single women entrepreneurs rated the influence of micro savings on their entrepreneurial success higher than the married women. However, micro savings for entrepreneurial purpose is good for both single and married rural women entrepreneurs for continuity of their businesses during financial crises. The study recommended that government should release fund to microfinance banks with specifications on sex and age so that women will be accessible to grants and loans with low interest in order to reduce poverty in our society especially among women.