Micro-credit applications as a struggle against women poverty: a case study of Isparta province, Turkey

Abstract

The micro-credit applications used as a struggle against women poverty in Isparta province were examined in this study. The main material of the study was comprised of original data acquired via face to face interviews with 212 women micro-credit users in the city of Isparta. It was determined based on the study results that 62.26% of the women micro-credit users were between the ages of 30-49, 54.25% had low education levels (primary school), 87.74% were married with an average family size of 3.76 people. It was observed that 87.26% of the women had social security and that the monthly family income of 40.09% varied between 1001-1500 TL. Majority of the women (58.49%) indicated that they used the micro-credit for developing their already existing businesses. It was set forth that the women used the micro-credit mostly in areas of commerce (43.87%), handwork/embroidery (28.30%) and animal husbandry (19.34%). The women indicated that their social relations and self-confidence increased as a result of the credit. About 80% of the women stated that there was a little increase in their family income after the micro-credit and it was determined that majority of the women (89.62%) want to use micro-credit again. Of the women who participated in the study 68.40% suggested an increase in the amount of credit while 51.89% suggested longer payment periods between two installments.