FACTORS AFFECTING THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF DUKEM TOWN

The major causes of low economic growth and high incidence of poverty in Ethiopia include lack of income, assets, employment opportunities, education, health, etc. To reverse the economic decline and poverty situation in the country, the Ethiopian government has taken policy measures such as the structural adjustment program (SAP), agricultural development led to industrialization (ADLI), and the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP). Currently, increasing the poor's access to microfinance services is accepted as one of the tool to attack poverty. OCSS CO. is one of the MFIs that was established in August 1997 to achieve these objectives in the region. This thesis tries to examine the factors that affect women's participation in microfinance from the perspective of the institution that deliver the service and from the clients that receive the service. Accordingly, institutional aspects-approaches, targeting, planning practices and micro finance and financial products are examined whether they are in line with women needs or not. Besides, it analyzes the socio- economic features of client’s household’s Visa-a vise the nature of women participation in micro finance. To come up with the research findings, data from client’s house hold survey, face to face interview with nonbeneficiaries as well as FGDs with clients and with concerned officials and employees were supplemented with secondary data obtained through consulting pertinent literatures. Analysis of the survey result shows that two main and broad factors can be drowning as a factor that affects women access to micro finance institution. These are namely institutional aspects and intra-house hold socio-economic features of client’s. These factors are found to be determinate women inclusion or exclusion or staying as an active clients or early quitting from the microfinance intervention. With regard to the unintended outcomes in term of asset depilation and disempowerment have been also observed to a certain extent