A credit-plus approach : the way to increase women´s empowerment in microcredit? - Evidence from Colombia

Abstract: Does participation in microcredit programs lead to the empowerment of women? The answer is not clear-cut, and earlier studies report ambivalent results. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals number 5 argues for the importance of finding paths to empowerment. In order to facilitate women’s empowerment in microcredit scholars suggest the use of a credit-plus approach. The purpose of this paper is to reassess the impact of microcredit by making use of the credit-plus approach of Fundación WWB. The study is based on new primary data collected in a Minor Field Study conducted in Colombia. Through developing and testing three hypotheses I assess the impact on three dimensions of women’s empowerment: economic, social and cultural, and psychological. A mixed method approach of both OLS regressions and semi-structured interviews are applied. The results indicate that a credit-plus approach does increase the positive impact of credit on women’s financial control within the household. Yet, no significant result could be found in the case of decision-making power or self-efficiency. The paper also concludes that non-financial services per se may constitute a way to increase women empowerment.