Effects of Community Microfinance Fund on Human Development in Vihiga County, Kenya

  • Kapchanga N Martin Kenyatta University, Nairobi
  • Njenga M Peter Kenyatta University, Nairobi
Keywords: Community microfinance, empowerment, human development

Abstract

Community microfinance is valuable at all levels of societal development - politically, economically, and socially. It binds all developmental initiatives in society. It is an indicator of human development that provides people with varied chances of choices for the betterment of their living standards. Therefore, the study examined the effects of community microfinance on human development in Vihiga County of Kenya. It adopted a descriptive survey design and stratified sampling technique to select a sample size of

384 women respondents from a target of 12,000 members of microfinance institutions in Vihiga County. Multivariate regression model was used to analyze study findings and was  anchored  in  the  capability  approach. The  results  indicate  that  majority  of  the respondents (66.9 %) had secured accounts with microfinance institutions whil 70.3% had secured loans from the institutions to improve their lives. Further, the study established that loans advanced were mostly used in educating the household members as evidenced by the 38.8% of respondents. This has positively influenced the literacy levels in Vihiga County, and since education is one of the measures of human development, an improvement in literacy level therefore, results in human development. The study also indicated the following: a mean of 1.67 and standard deviation of 0.471 for members with accounts, a mean of 1.70 and standard deviation of 0.457 for those that received loans from the microfinance, while the respondents who had no problems in repaying the loans had a mean of 2.30 and standard deviation of 1.015, while the calculated t-value was less than the critical value at 5% level of significance. The study concluded that indeed microfinance empowerment funds affect human development in Vihiga County since there was a real difference among the surveyed group members who were able to access the micro finance services. This study further recommends that funds should be made available at affordable interest rates so that communities can invest in projects that improve human well-being. Learning institutions including technical and vocational training institutions promote human development and should be considered priority projects. This should also be adopted in other counties in Kenya to achieve holistic development in the country.

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Published
2022-02-04
How to Cite
Martin, K., & Peter, N. (2022). Effects of Community Microfinance Fund on Human Development in Vihiga County, Kenya. Africa Journal of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, 7(1), 177-188. Retrieved from http://afritvetjournal.org/index.php/Afritvet/article/view/150