Poverty Alleviation through Microfinance in North-East Kenya Province

This research explores the unique micro-level challenges that face poverty alleviation programmes adopted by microfinance institutions (MFI) operating in North Eastern Kenya Province (NEP). The study used structured questionnaires covering the sample of 600 respondents randomly selected from three counties namely Wajir, Mandera and Marsabit. Three Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) comprising 24 participants were held to facilitate a deeper understanding of the challenges of poverty among the North Eastern Province’s communities when alleviated through microfinance. The results reveal that the illiteracy due to the weakness of education and the unfavorable basic and financial infrastructures such as roads, telecommunications network represent the most important challenges which may affect the successful of microfinance programmes. These results recommend both conventional and Islamic microfinance might contribute positively for poverty alleviation for the only Kenyan Muslim-dominated region if these challenges are mitigated.