Credit for rural women : an evaluation of the women's entrepreneurship development program

External evaluation of the project, which is being implemented by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), covers the period 1986-6/89. The project has been generally successful in implementing a credit program managed by women for women. The number of loans has been satisfactory, with each BSCIC centers (4 Phase I centers and 5 Phase II centers) issuing about 150 loans/year at an average size of 2,000-3,000 takas. The overall recovery rate is around 75%, but all Phase II centers except one have reached the target recovery rate of 80%. Overhead per taka recovered was less than one taka for all but two centers. The provision of training to clients has had mixed results: management training has been too brief (2 days) to have an impact, but skills training has helped many women initiate business activities. Project-funded enterprises have contributed to an increase in clients' incomes, though only by utilizing family labor, and it is unclear whether the additional income has been translated into improved quality of life in terms of housing, nutritional intake, and access to education and health services. In addition, the nature of the funded enterprises (traditional cottage industries) restricts their expansion through capital reinvestments to the status of micro-enterprises. New lines of activities, especially those that are nontraditional and involve larger asset size, should be explored and funded. Overall, identification of beneficiaries has improved significantly, and most new clients are disadvantaged rural women involved in family enterprises. However, even though the project has provided positive role models for women by filling top management positions with qualified female staff, only a fifth of project-funded enterprises are managed by women, even in the most successful centers. While the potential for promoting female entrepreneurship exists within the project structure, it is limited by the minimal support from headquarters. It is therefore recommended that headquarter personnel either spend considerably more time in the field or hire two mid-level women to assist in the project's transition towards support of women entrepreneurship.