Microcredit Programme and The Performance of Women-Owned Micro Enterprises in Malaysia
Keywords:
Women-owned micro enterprise, Enterprise performance, Microcredit, Entrepreneurial capital, Human capital.Abstract
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the microcredit program and the influencing factors relating to entrepreneurial capital and human capital in the performance of women-owned micro-enterprises. Primary data were derived from a sample of 380 female entrepreneurs under the AIM microcredit program, with regard to six hypotheses. A proportionate stratified sampling method was used for data collection. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the microcredit program is significantly related to the performance of women-owned micro-enterprises. Entrepreneurial factors have significant positive relationships with the performance of women-owned micro-enterprises. However, factors relating to religious values and human capital had no significant relationship with performance. The sample of this study was limited to one out of several microcredit programs in Malaysia, namely AIM. This study only considered some internal factors such as entrepreneurial values, management practices, religious values, and business experience and training. Future studies could consider other microcredit programs offered by commercial banks and other microcredit institutions in Malaysia, in order to unveil better prediction for the dissimilarity in SME performance. In addition, future studies could incorporate data from all states in Malaysia to provide richer interpretation and generalization of the findings. From a policy perspective, this study recognizes a need to improve the delivery mechanism in the microcredit program in terms of credit products, operational efficiency, and social development programs, to empower women in their entrepreneurial activities. Future research should consider other factors such as social capital, economic factors, government support, and family involvement.
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