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Husbands and Wives. The powers and perils of participation in a microfinance cooperative for female entrepreneurs

Author

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  • Prof dr Erik Stam
  • Felix Meier zu Selhausen, MSc MA

    (PhD Candidate, Utrecht University)

Abstract

Participation in microfinance and in production cooperatives has been identified as a means to improve income and empower female entrepreneurs in developing economies. This study on female entrepreneurs in Western Uganda tests how participation of the husband in the same microfinance cooperative affects gender empowerment. Participation by female entrepreneurs in a microfinance cooperative turns out not to be an unconditional blessing: even though it does deliver higher household incomes, it also deteriorates the female’s household decision-making power when her husband participates in the same self-help group of the microfinance cooperative. This offers new insights for development policy and for entrepreneurship scholars to study the bright and dark sides of microfinance.

Suggested Citation

  • Prof dr Erik Stam & Felix Meier zu Selhausen, MSc MA, 2014. "Husbands and Wives. The powers and perils of participation in a microfinance cooperative for female entrepreneurs," Working Papers 2014/20, Maastricht School of Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/20
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bronwyn P. Wood & Poh Yen Ng & Bettina Lynda Bastian, 2021. "Hegemonic Conceptualizations of Empowerment in Entrepreneurship and Their Suitability for Collective Contexts," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Salia, Samuel & Hussain, Javed & Tingbani, Ishmael & Kolade, Oluwaseun, 2017. "Is women empowerment a zero Sum game? Unintended Consequences of microfinance for Women’s empowerment in Ghana," MPRA Paper 82895, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Aug 2017.

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