The Effectiveness of the Microfinance Scheme as Both Poverty Alleviation - Research Paper Example

The existence of microfinance is very recent, only since it was initiated in 2003 by BRJ and affiliate to ALJ-CSP. Naturally, the penetration of the sector is still considerably low as opposed to the potential market for borrowers. BRJ being the vanguard of poverty alleviation, take poverty reduction measures into account rather than focusing on the empowerment aspect of their women loanees. Their main concern is to enhance the income of the loan recipients and help them run their enterprises profitably.

There is a small but growing literature on microfinance in Saudi Arabia, but most studies and research have been conducted in a comparative context, focusing on the difference between Islamic and conventional microfinance, and certainly, the issue of women empowerment through microfinance is not central to them. To address this gap in the literature, this study focuses on the empowering aspect of microfinance on women clients of the microfinance organization (BRJ) The overall objective of the study is to analyze the microfinance scheme in Saudi Arabia and analyze its implications on women empowerment in both rural and urban areas in the kingdom, and evaluate whether women clients have become economically and socially empowered due to the support extended by the microfinance organization.

First to study the characteristics of BRJ microfinance beneficiaries by using their demographic and microfinance profile (age, literacy, family size and type, occupation, loan size, enterprise, income, consumption, savings, etc.).