The Influence of Financial Services on the Economic Empowerment of Women SME Owners in Kigoma Municipality: The Moderating Role of Cultural Practices.

Manumbu, Deogratias Sangu (2025) The Influence of Financial Services on the Economic Empowerment of Women SME Owners in Kigoma Municipality: The Moderating Role of Cultural Practices. Doctoral thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Women’s economic empowerment is a multifaceted concept encompassing economic, social, political, and educational dimensions. While progress has been made in recent decades, there are still significant economic disparities between men and women in many parts of the world. This study examined the influence of financial services, particularly microcredit, microinsurance and savings and deposits, on the women's economic empowerment in Kigoma Municipality. Moreover, the study examined the moderating role of cultural practices in explaining the relationship between financial services and women's economic empowerment in Kigoma Municipality. The simple random sampling and structured questionnaires were employed to collect data from 192 women SME owners. The data were analyzed using descriptive, multiple, and hierarchical regression analysis. The findings indicated that microcredit, savings, and deposits and microinsurance financial services positively and significantly influenced women's economic empowerment in Kigoma municipality. The moderation analysis exposed that the cultural practices positively and significantly moderated the relationship between microcredit, microinsurance, savings, and deposits and women's economic empowerment. The study recommends the programs that improve the microcredits, savings and deposits, and microinsurance services to promote women's economic empowerment in Kigoma Municipality and in Tanzania. Keywords: Financial Services, Women's Economic Empowerment, SMEs, cultural practices, Kigoma Municipality

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects: 300 Social Sciences > 330 Economics
Divisions: Faculty of Business Management > Department of Accounting and Finance
Depositing User: Mr Habibu Kazimzuri
Date Deposited: 19 Jan 2026 11:29
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2026 11:29
URI: http://repository.out.ac.tz/id/eprint/4920

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