Journal of Rural Development

S. Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Post-Graduate and Research Department of Commerce, St. Peter’s College, Kolenchery, Ernakulam, Kerala - 682 311, IN

Abstract

Right from mid-eighties of the past century, microcredit has become a key strategy for poverty alleviation and empowerment of women in Kerala. Formation of Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) and Self-help Groups (SHGs), and providing microcredit through all possible channels to the members of the groups have become a very popular poverty alleviation and women empowerment model in Kerala. Micro studies examining the intricacies of microcredit dispensation and its impact on the empowerment of women in Kerala are plenty. However, full-fledged macro studies examining the matter in depth are very few. The paper examines the impact of microcredit dispensation on the economic empowerment of women beneficiaries. The study finds that after joining the women groups and receiving microcredit, there is significant improvement in the economic situation of women in Kerala.

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S. Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 St. Peter’s College, Kolenchery P.O., Kerala, 682 311., IN

Abstract

Kerala is the South Asian leader in achievements in women's education and health, especially reproductive health. Nine out of every ten women can read and write and the State produces the largest number of women post-graduates in India. But, Kerala is a society where patriarchal values are so deep-ischolar_mained restraining involvement of women in social and political spheres. Acute unemployment among women makes the matters worse. While the total work participation increased during the last decade (Census 2001) in both urban and rural areas of the State, in the case of women, a reverse trend has set in. The female work participation rate decreased from 15.9 per cent in 1991 to 15.3 per cent in 2001 (2001 census). Moreover, poverty has become a serious evil both in the rural and urban subsets of the population of Kerala. Micro-credit programmes targeting women have been a welcome corrective to the above neglect of women's productive role. The present study can justify its significance on the ground that there is now mounting hope that micro-credit can be a large scale poverty alleviation tool and also an empowerment mechanism especially for the rural households. Moreover, in the present day specific situation of Kerala characterised by rampant unemployment, falling income from cultivation, agony experienced by the lease cultivators, escalating costs of health needs, increased education costs, and the steady withdrawal of State from public sphere, the entry of micro-credit was a safety valve in providing livelihood to the poor. Noticeably, banks and other financial institutions too are shedding their old reluctance to lend to the poor, and are looking to tap the expertise of micro-credit groups to create a new market. In this context, the present study is a pragmatic effort to review the characteristics of beneficiaries and to assess the access, use and repayment of micro-credit by them.

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S. Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Post Graduate Department of Commerce, St. Peter’s College, Kolenchery, Ernakulam, Kerala - 682 311., IN

Abstract

Setting up of micro-enterprises or micro-businesses by women seeking microfinance has become a popular employment generation and poverty eradication model in India. The exponential growth of women groups, microfinance institutions and micro-businesses are solid evidences for the myriads of opportunities and advantages the model presents. Different States in India with varied geographical, cultural and political environment are adopting their own modes of promotional efforts in this regard. The Kudumbashree Mission - the poverty eradication mission of the State of Kerala - has been instrumental in facilitating the formation of women groups, micro-enterprises, provision of administrative and financial aid, and monitoring the microfinance activities in the State. The present micro study about the Kudumbashree linked micro-enterprises in three panchayats of the Ernakulam district of Kerala reveals the general and economic prospects of the enterprises along with different problems confronted by micro-entrepreneurs. It also advocates the strategies to be adopted by the enterprises, and promotional agencies to overcome the problems, and survive in the competitive environment.

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S. Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Post Graduate and Research Department of Commerce, St. Peter’s College, Kolenchery, Ernakulam, Kerala, IN

Abstract

Structured efforts for women empowerment and poverty alleviation should involve capacity building of the targeted group parallel to the provision of economic means to them. The Self-help Groups (SHGs) formed nation-wide for the empowerment of poor women pool small savings of their members to begin with and supplement the financial requirement of the members by associating with banks and other financial institutions. To enable the group members to handle micro-credit with care, manage micro-enterprises, and involve in social and political activities with confidence, capacity building programmes of varied nature are inevitable. The paper examines the capacity building programmes undertaken through women groups in Kerala by Kudumbashree, the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM), launched by the Government of Kerala, India.

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S. Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Professor, School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin University Campus P.O., Kerala - 682 022, IN

Abstract

The article attempts to examine the financial management of women-owned rural micro enterprises (RWMEs), set-up primarily for self-employment generation and poverty alleviation in Kerala. The key aspects of financial management such as capital structure, asset structure and profitability of RWMEs are examined. The study found that, on an average, the capital structure of RWMEs comprises of Owners’ Fund (26.65 per cent), Loan from formal financial institutions (30.55 per cent), subsidy from government/local bodies (34.11 per cent), Revolving Fund (1.26 per cent), loan from informal sources (2.93 per cent) and loan from owner members (4.5 per cent). The total assets of the enterprises comprise of Land and Building (9.95 per cent), Plant and Machinery (41.02 per cent), Furniture and Fixtures (17.37 per cent), Long-term Investments (2.72 per cent), Inventory (15.51 per cent), Receivables (8.35 per cent), and Cash and Bank (5.04 per cent). The average net profit ratio is found to be 12.75 per cent/per annum. The Kudumbashree-linked enterprises have made considerable asset accretion over the years as compared to their initial investment in assets (Index 100 to 131). The SGSY-linked units could not make any asset accretion as their index of investment in total assets diminished to 65. The NGOs-linked enterprises could not make any asset accretion and at the same time, they were not prone to any erosion in assets over the years.

Keywords

Women Enterprises, Capital Structure, Asset Structure, Profitability, Micro Enterprises.

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