Capital structure and financial sustainability of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Rwanda

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of capital structure on financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs), and find out the extent to which capital structure affects financial sustainability of MFIs in Rwanda. Data was collected from annual financial reports of MFIs and SACCOs for the period 2014-2018. Due to data availability, only a panel of 20 MFIs and SACCOs was considered using fixed effects OLS regression models. Findings from this study reveal that the use of debt as financing sources adversely affects firms‘ financial self-sufficiency and performance. In contrast, the use of share capital strongly improves firms‘ operational and financial sustainability as well as their return on assets. Using retained earnings moderately and positively increases firm‘s financial sustainability. Results from sample splits show that compared to MFIs, SACCOs are more likely to be adversely affected by debt financing than their MFI counterparts. With respect to share capital, there is significant difference between the two groups. Using share capital to finance MFIs‘ investments significantly increases their return on assets, their operational and financial self-sufficiency. With respect to SACCOs, results show that using share capital as means of financing firms‘ assets negatively and significantly affects their return on total assets as well as their operating and financial self-sufficiency.