THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCING ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND SMALL BUSINESSES IN GHANA

Abstract

The study evaluates the impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation, unemployment, development of small and medium enterprises, and support for marginalised and vulnerable communities in society. The study uses a validated instrument to gather data from 400 respondents in the Greater Accra Region. Findings from the study reveal that 85% of enterprise owners obtain their start-up capital from personal savings. The results show that there is a positive relationship between microfinance and small and medium enterprises. There is also a strong association found between microfinance and poverty alleviation. However, there are no relationships found between microfinance and employment rate, and outreach to the vulnerable and marginalised. The study concludes that microfinance programs correlate positively with economic growth. The study recommends that other economic development variables must be studied concerning microfinance to ascertain the portion of economic development that microfinance influences.