5.3. RECOMMENDATIONS
The findings may be useful to microfinance institutions to
strengthen and expand their support to rural poor women. Microfinance
institutions should conduct usual meeting with the beneficiaries to make them
aware about the use of loan in proper business. Govt. and NGOs, on the basis of
the study findings, may formulate its policy to empower rural women socially
and economically. Based on the above conclusions, the following recommendations
are suggested:
1. Microfinance institutions should try to extend more credit
facilities to clients to expand their businesses since the study results
confirmed that microfinance had a positive impact in empowering rural women.
2. It was also suggested that MFIs should raise-up the loan
amount for supporting the business of their target group
3. MFIs should adapt existing training programs and set up new
ones in response to clients' needs. With respect to introductory training, as
previously mentioned, transparency and full understanding of loan modalities
must be ensured.
4. MFIs should pay attention on their target group including
the ones in the extreme poverty. This un-bankable group, it should be better to
be linked with the NGOs or government to provide direct support more than
linked with MFIs.
5. The design of products and services should also be made
flexible to reflect the needs of the poor especially women. As was found out by
this study, microfinance is most directed to income generating activities, or
delivered to those who have existing businesses, street trade or physical
collateral.
6. This excludes a large majority of the poor people who would
need the products and services and cannot afford this collateral. It's thus
important to mention that there is need to improve the design and outreach and
to see MFI as part of the package for targeting the poor.
7. Incentive systems should be set up on all levels to
encourage MFIs to incorporate strategies and activities supporting women's
empowerment into their work. The key here is not to provide more funds in
general, but rather to specifically reward promising and/or effective
approaches.
8. Despite increasing competition between MFIs to disburse
loans, both and its member MFIs must ensure that loans are given responsibly
to clients who can afford them. It should also encourage MFIs to re-evaluate
their effective interest rates, requests for collateral and policies on group
guarantees as well as punitive and legal measures in case of non-payment. Such
measures will guarantee responsible finance and ensure that the current largely
negative image of microcredit is counter balanced.
9. The Government should provide some fund and subsidies to
MFIs in order to help MFIs delivering financial services at low price (interest
rate) as they serve the poor people.
5.4. SUGGESTIONS FOR
FURTHER RESEARCH
After carrying out the research and
learning some problems in the field on the project entitled «the
contribution of microfinance institution on women empowerment » a research
is suggested on the following areas:
- The impact of banking institution on women empowerment
- Accountability and performance as tools for proper functioning
of microfinance institutions
- The impact of microfinance institutions credit services in
poverty alleviation in rural areas of Rwanda
- The importance of using mobile banking within microfinance
institution on their performance
- Factors that can lead to poverty reduction since microfinance
institution is one of them,
- Proper loan application assessment skills towards viable
institutions,
- Commercialization of microfinance services and products offered
by microfinance institutions.
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