Our cooperation with the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung - SLE) at the Humboldt University in Berlin goes under the title "Economic Empowerment, especially of Women, through Microrcredit: A Case Study, based on the Microfinance Investment and Technical Assistance Facility (MITAF) in Sierra Leone."
"Empowerment" is a term with many definitions and is used in a multitude of ways. Since the late 1980s it has assumed a central position in development cooperation. Broadly, it describes a gain in influence and decision-making power for disadvantaged groups and individuals. Their opportunities for access and participation are strengthened which in turn builds self-confidence and increases their capacity to formulate their own needs and to lead a self-determined life. Such change processes can be supported by development initiatives, and are often an independent objective as such.
The empowerment of women in particular is seen as an effective strategy for poverty reduction and economic growth. Microfinance programmes, the majority of whose customers (90 % on average) are women, are said to offer especially high potential for empowerment. Yet, comparatively little reliable research is available regarding how those involved view themselves and how their lives are changed, nor with regard to the empirical measurement of empowerment processes and determining factors. This research study addresses precisely those issues, using the Financial Cooperation (FC) funded MITAF microloans programme in Sierra Leone as an example.
On behalf of KfW a research team from the SLE postgraduate course examined the relationship between microfinance initiatives and empowerment processes, especially with regard to women. This involved an appraisal of previous FC-financed measures as well as a general scientific analysis since up to that time the project had not specifically focused on empowerment processes, although it now aims to do so.
The resulting highly relevant research study analyses the various levels of empowerment and makes a significant contribution to improving our understanding of relevant causes and their mechanisms (the "pathways to empowerment"). This is supplemented by a "storyline" that offers an anecdotal illustration of the processes of social change, viewed from the perspective of those involved.
Homepage SLE
