This study investigated the perceptions of clients, social workers, and community members about clients’ participation in an integrated microfinance program in order to assess the usefulness of integrating finance with medical treatment, training, and education.
While microfinance is often used in developing countries as a poverty alleviation tool, many studies of microfinance programs question their effectiveness as a genuine means of alleviating poverty. A growing body of literature has more recently identified problems with microfinance brought about by the apparent misuse of loans by the finance clients, pointing to clients who have found themselves compelled to use the loan to fund necessary health care and other basic needs. Increasing evidence indicates that minimal support (finance only) is not enough to assist impoverished people because the causes of poverty are multidimensional and the clients need more than finance to break the cycle of poverty.
Description
Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2018.