Read the full-text of this article for free

Title: Microcredit and Rural Women Entrepreneurship Development in Bangladesh: A Multivariate Model

Authors: Sharmina Afrin; Nazrul Islam; Shahid Uddin Ahmed

Addresses: Author address listing can be found in the "About the Authors" section at the end of the article.

Abstract: Microcredit programs have a positive socioeconomic impact on the rural female borrowers of Bangladesh. This study suggests that the microcredit programs do not help the borrowers to develop any entrepreneurial capabilities other than survival. Thus, this paper aims at identifying the factors related to the development of entrepreneurship among rural women through the microcredit programs of providers. A multivariate analysis technique (Factor Analysis) was conducted to identify the factors related to entrepreneurship development. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to identify the relationship between microcredit programs and the development of rural female entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. Results show that financial management skills are the most important factor and have a significant relationship with the development of rural women and entrepreneurship. Results also show that the group identities of the female borrowers have a significant relationship with the rural entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. A borrower's experience from the parents' families and the limitation of options also lead to the development of entrepreneurship among the rural female borrowers of Bangladesh.

Keywords: Microcredit; rural women; entrepreneurship development; structural equation modeling.

DOI: 10.1504/JBM.2010.141177

Journal of Business and Management, 2010 Vol.16 No.1, pp.9 - 36

Published online: 05 Sep 2024 *