Micro-Financing: Enhancing the Role of Women’s Group for Poverty Alleviation in Rural Gambia

In Gambia, women groups are the core of developmental activities. The role of women in micro financing for poverty alleviation has long been recognized as vital approach to household welfare. Microfinance generally refers to the provision of financial services (e.g. savings, credit, insurance) to the poor especially women who normally do not have easy access to formal financial institutions. In Gambia, donor agencies and NGOs are promoting micro-finance through women’s groups. When linked to other interventions such as training in technical and simple business skills, microfinance can be instrumental in establishing successful enterprises development. In the case of on farm activities were women are engaged, may require securing rights and access to productive assets. Access to credit has often proven to be the first step out of poverty alleviation because it gives rural community window of opportunity to operate small enterprise at profit orientation. Therefore, the objective of this study is to establish the need to empower and support women’s group in poverty alleviation through micro-finance approach by implementing policies and strategies in rural Gambia.