Microfinance, Micro-Entrepreneurial Activities Through Self-Help Groups, and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women

The chapter attempts to analyze the impact of microfinance and micro-entrepreneurial activities of women through self-help groups (SHGs) on their socio-economic empowerment. Empirically applauded Logit model has been employed for analyzing the socio-economic impacts using primary data collected from a primary survey conducted in selected rural blocks of Burdwan district of West Bengal, India. Participation of women in the household decision-making process and income and employment generation activities are found to be significant factors in this regard. Finally, the study suggests that training of SHGs to non-members, increase in loan amount from banks, and effective utilization of that loan promote women's empowerment as well as employment.