Hypothesis
There is no significant effect of microfinance institutions activities on poverty reduction.
Scope of the Study
In an attempt to investigate the effect of micro finance institutions on poverty reduction, the study focused on Pamoja Women Development Programme (PAWDEP) located in Kiambu Country as a case study. Kiambu is the smallest but densely populated county in Central Province of Kenya bordering Nairobi City and Kajiado County to the south. The absolute poverty index of the district is 25.08%.
The PAWDEP was purposely chosen because its programmes specifically target women, and has dominance in Kiambu County. It is believed generally that when women are empowered financially, the entire family unit benefits as they participate in improving the standard of life to the family members. The study covered credit facilities provided by the MFI and clients perception on income improvement and/or reduced poverty levels. The study only concentrated on three branches within Kiambu that are about 30 kilometres from Nairobi City: Kiambu town, Thika and Limuru.
Conceptual Framework
In order to uncover the effect of microfinance institutions in poverty reduction, the study strived to isolate the key variables mainly credit facilities, income improvement/reduced poverty and economic development, regulatory framework as illustrated Figure.2
Knowledge Gap
The literature reviewed shows that the debate on microfinance is inconclusive on the impact of microfinance on poverty reduction as the study portray. It should be noted that the varying conclusions in the text may be accounted for by differences in the methodology used to measure the impact, among other biases. Conducting such a study is justified by the increased rate of people living with poverty in Kenya. This situation forces re-evaluating the plans and programmes put in place by various stakeholders including the Kenyan government on poverty reduction. It is against this background that the researchers find it necessary to make a study on the effects of MFIs on poverty reduction in Kenya.
Methodology
The study used descriptive survey design. Survey design was used because of it in-depth aspect collecting personal information that helps in learning peoples’ attitudes, beliefs, values, behavior, opinions, habits and desires. It would also help coverage of a wide area using representative samples. The target population was 9 staff/administrators (management) of PAWDEP and 46 customers/recipients of the products and services. A total of 3 branches of PAWDEP were sampled. A sample size used in the study was 20% of the population. The study employed stratified sampling technique to select staff of the selected MFIs and customers (beneficiaries) because it enabled the study to achieve desired representation from various sub-groups in the accessible population. For the administrators (management), purposive sampling was used because they oversee individual sections in the institution. The sample size was based on 3 branches that were randomly selected. 9 staff/administrators from each branch and 20 customers/clients were sampled as shown in Table.