Microfinance Outreach as a Framework for Understanding Women's Empowerment: A case study of Vision Fund Malawi

Microfinance gives low-income individuals, especially women, the opportunity to advance in both society and the economy. In addition to economic empowerment, microcredit has a host of other advantages for women, such as improved reproductive health control and decreased susceptibility to domestic abuse. The evaluation of how microfinance impacted the expansion of women-owned small and micro companies was the primary objective of this paper. Because it develops the environment that will enable women to move from marginalized positions within the household to positions of greater influence in local, national, and international decisionmaking. For women to be socioeconomically empowered, microfinance is essential. Widespread acclaim has been accorded to microfinance as a strategy for eradicating poverty and fostering the improvement of the underprivileged and women's economic status. Nevertheless, there is a conspicuous lack of data on how microfinance has impacted the expansion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owned and operated by women

The research design for this study included qualitative and quantitative techniques (mixed method), using focus groups and questionnaires as research instruments to gather information from a sample size of 60 people in both qualitative and quantitative ways. While SPSS was used to evaluate the quantitative data from these focus group discussions, content-based analysis was used to assess the qualitative data. Microfinance was determined to have had a favourable effect on the growth of women-owned enterprises. According to this research, women are more likely than males to use microfinance services provided by microfinance institutions. The results demonstrate the loan options provided by Vision Fund Malawi (VFM) are essential to satisfy the need for financial services among low-income earners, the majority of whom are women. The findings further show that microloans and savings offered by VFM reduce domestic violence against women. Most of the non-VFM workers, were found to be unaware of services like microinsurance and trainings. Women-owned SMEs are determined by governmental policies and processes, loan availability, and individual capabilities. Malawian women want to have increased assess to microfinance and larger sums to run SMEs.