Microfinance for women’s empowerment: evidence from Apeiron’s project Equal Steps

Abstract

Women’s empowerment is an active and multidimensional process, aiming at enabling women to realise their full identity and power in all spheres of life. Women’s empowerment and economic development are closely connected. Microfinance aims to support sustainable development, social welfare and progress, including women’s empowerment. This paper reviews whether microfinance can be an effective tool for women’s empowerment and tests this hypothesis through a research study in Nepal based on a case from Apeiron’s practice. The analysis shows how microfinance, when providing both financial and non-financial services, called ‘credit-plus’, can enhance women’s empowerment; however, a whole process of interventions in various spheres and a wider structural change are needed to achieve women’s empowerment and gender equality. Local projects based on ‘transformatory’ and a bottom-up approach might achieve this goal.

Falcomer P., Lanzavecchia A. (2024) "Microfinance for women’s empowerment: evidence from Apeiron’s project Equal Steps " Peace Human Rights Governance, 7(2), 231-259. DOI: 10.14658/PUPJ-PHRG-2024-2-4  
Year of Publication
2024
Journal
Peace Human Rights Governance
Volume
7
Issue Number
2
Start Page
231
Last Page
259
Date Published
06/2024
ISSN Number
2532-3474
Serial Article Number
4
DOI
10.14658/PUPJ-PHRG-2024-2-4
Issue
Section
PolicyPapers