WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES LOANS: A CASE STUDY ON WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF PABNA DISTRICT

Abstract

The study sought to determine the impact of small and medium enterprises (SME) loans on women empowerment in Pabna District in Bangladesh. Day by day, the numbers of women entrepreneurs are increasing. But still, the ratio of male and female entrepreneurs is unequal. The objectives of this study were to find out reasons to take SME loans, to assess the level of women empowerment based on some selected indicators, and to identify some barriers to women entrepreneurship development in Pabna District in Bangladesh. The sample comprised 100 women entrepreneurs from Pabna District who have taken SME loans from private banks, public banks, and non-government organizations. To get specific results from this study, several data analysis methods have been applied. Some specific findings of the study are women entrepreneurs take small and medium enterprise loans to improve the economic condition of their families, the level of empowerment increases after starting economic activities through small and medium enterprise loans, most potential barriers in women’s entrepreneurship development are socio-cultural constraint and complexities to get loans. The study only focused on one district. Therefore, it is hard to represent the whole country. The findings of this study could help future researchers.