摘要：The study assessed impact of women’s access to finance on poverty alleviation in Chinhoyi, the capital city of Mashonaland West under an impact assessment model categorised in three broad parameters. The paper documented the current liquidity crisis within the Zimbabwean economy due to the multiple-currency regime in place and the extent to which microfinance institutions can provide relief to women engaged in small and medium enterprises so as to improve on their livelihoods and the communities at large. Microfinance became so crucial in funding social entrepreneurship initiatives in the face of dwindling social value addition by government and the private sector. The study recognised that a number of women were benefiting from their small businesses; however they were struggling with finance to fund their businesses due to lack of collateral security, and other unofficial screening criterion. The paper noted that the available microfinance institutions were lending for consumption purposes and charges exorbitant interest rates which make it difficult for the women in business to borrow. We recommended that: (i) NGO or government backed microfinance institutions can provide better services at reasonable rates than the current institutions in place, empowering women and improving the standard of living of the Zimbabwean people; (ii) close monitoring is needed on the funding practices by microfinance institute (MFI) to avoid bias towards consumption funding.
关键词：Microfinance; poverty alleviation; women empowerment; social entrepreneurship; liquidity
