Effect of Micro-Finance Services on the Social-Economic Wellbeing Of Members: a Case Study Of Wazalendo Sacco

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of microfinance services on the economic wellbeing of the Wazalendo SACCO members. It was carried on the basis of four main objectives: i) to establish the aims of setting up WSACCO; ii) to establish the nature of services offered by WSACCO; iii) to establish how the services of WSACCO have impacted on the economic wellbeing of its members; iv) to establish the challenges that affect its ability to improve on the economic wellbeing of its members. The study exclusively relied on secondary data, sourced through review of document materials such as SACCO reports and journals, Policy reports on SACCOs, and relevant scholarly literature authored in relation to the objectives of study. Hypothetical findings to the objectives of the study were derived respectively; WSACCO interventions are aimed at; reducing poverty, contributing to food security, changing social relations for the better for its beneficiaries through offering services like Micro credit, Micro savings and microfinance training which have impacted on the beneficiaries that they are able to diversify their income sources, build up physical, human and social asset base with focus on good money management, rebuilt their household’s base of income, assets and maintained smooth consumption, increased their education levels and improved in quality of their health, established or expanded family enterprises, their small savings have gone into simple investments like buying shares, which in turn has increased in value and laid a foundation for further investment, poor communities have established their own credit and saving associations, or village banks, the financial products and services created by WSACCO with requirements together have enabled low-income people to become clients of a banking intermediary, however WSACCO is challenged by beneficiaries’ lack of the necessary skills to manage their business, high interest rates charged by WSACCO, lack of good lending methods tailored to the needs of their beneficiaries, diminished physical access due to remote location of households and high cost of delivering financial services to small, fragmented and widely dispersed customers.

It was therefore concluded that to propagate the idea that SACCOs are very much instrumental in improving economic wellbeing among members, transformation ranges from the positive impact of WSACCO services and its challenges. However, in a technical approach to the effectiveness of WSACCO in improving the economic well-being of the people served, it is observed that it is unusual for credit to trigger a continuous increase in technical sophistication, output or employment. Thus, it was recommended that: Governments, micro-credit institutions and developing partners should help to ensure that citizens access microcredit services. Microfinance institutions and other deposit taking institutions should increase savings services to the people. Microfinance institutions and other deposit taking institutions should increase the training services they offer to their members.