Saving and Credit Cooperatives Services and Socio-economic Empowerment of Women in Temeke Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

The majority of the SACCOS clientele consists of low-income women who form solidarity groups to obtain credit. However, poverty has persisted among women and their communities for a very long time. This study assessed the financial services that SACCOS offer to women and the impacts that SACCOS have on women's empowerment and household livelihoods in Temeke Municipality, Tanzania. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) were used in a qualitative research design to gather primary data from female members of the selected SACCOS (Mbagala Lutheran and KIUMA) on the research issue. The survey found that women use SACCOS for a wide range of services, such as savings accounts, low-cost loans, options for investing and financial advisory services. Additionally, the study revealed that SACCOS have both non-financial and financial impacts on women's empowerment and household livelihoods, including greater financial security through saving and insurance products, strengthening of financial literacy and decision-making skills among women, empowerment through participation in SACCOS leadership and decision-making, business development through access to capital and credits from SACCOS, and enhanced household ability to meet basic and material needs. This study concludes that it is through its services that SACCOS is an instrumental entity in addressing the financial inclusion gap, especially for women in Tanzania. Moreover, it is recommended based on this study that, apart from mere financial services, SACCOS and other microfinance institutions should invest in education and financial advisory services to assist women in making wise financial decisions, such as budgeting and making productive investments of capital. This is because women save more in SACCOS; however, a large number of them have continuously been trapped in a vicious cycle of financial debt, poverty, and dependency syndrome