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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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  • F. Meier zu Selhausen
  • E. Stam

Abstract

This study on female entrepreneurs in Western Uganda provides empirical evidence on the socio-economic effects of participation in a microfinance cooperative of both the female entrepreneur and her husband. Participation by female entrepreneurs in a microfinance cooperative is not an unconditional blessing: even though it does deliver higher household incomes, it might also deteriorate 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

  • F. Meier zu Selhausen & E. Stam, 2013. "Husbands and Wives. The powers and perils of participation in a microfinance cooperative for female entrepreneurs," Working Papers 13-10, Utrecht School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:use:tkiwps:1310
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    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.
    3. 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.

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    Keywords

    microfinance; cooperatives; female entrepreneurship; coffee; Uganda;
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