Impact of Microfinance on the Welfare of Households: A Case Study of Chipinge.

Abstract

This research examined the impact of microfinance on the welfare of households in Chipinge. The study targeted thirty-eight households and twelve microfinance practitioners based on a convenience sampling technique. Various welfare indicators headlined with the dominant selected being food-related, asset-related, and dwelling indicators. The study found that microfinance access has a significantly high impact on household welfare in Chipinge based on the results obtained from the study by comparing those clients with access and those with no access to microfinance in the community.The study also found that microfinance institutions face challenges in trying to offer their services to the Chipinge community and recommendations were proffered through interviews to improve the services offered to the community, hence indirectly impacting their welfare. Based on the findings, the study recommends that policymakers in the country pay attention to refining the policy to ensure that certain variables identified to interfere with microfinance access do not crowd out the intended beneficiaries of microfinance. Recommendations are also proffered to stakeholders (policymakers and microfinance institutions) to be innovative in ensuring those in deep rural areas are not financially excluded.