dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) on women’s livelihoods in Kampala Central Division as a case study of UEYOWOSA. The specific objectives of the study were 1). To identify the various services provided by SACCOs to women in Kampala Central Division, 2). To examine the contributions of SACCOs towards achieving success of women enterprises in Kampala Central Division. The study applied quantitative methods of data from a sample size of 100 women in UEYOWOSA using questionnaires.
The study found out that SACCOs have significantly reduced poverty, contributed to education, helped in saving mobilization, and provided emergency housing loans and funeral insurance. SACCOs were found to have contributed to strengthening social protection and social inclusion, reduction of risks and vulnerabilities facing women entrepreneurs and ability to make decisions. Inclusion of women workers and women entrepreneurs with disabilities, increase in responsibilities in the home and the ability to participate in the community activities, helping women to network and build relationships and finally challenges faced by SACCOs were; the inability to maintain adequate liquidity to meet savings withdrawals, limited of financial education, limited knowledge and capacity of management committees and poor members’ participation, limited of transparency and accountability, limited range and variety of financial products and services and political interference as the major challenges then the least challenges identifies were; limited appropriate support from cooperative promoters and NGOs, inadequate internal controls and financial systems which has led to mismanagement of resources and Non-awareness of the existing opportunities by the members. However, SACCOs have not significantly provided information about business and market opportunities and festival savings as services offered by the members. However, SACCOs have not significantly provided information about business and market opportunities and festival savings as services offered by the SACCOs, 2) results continue and show that SACCOs have failed to contribute to removal of barriers to the start-ups.
The study concluded that SACCOs significantly offered services to women entrepreneurs, made viable contributions to success of women entrepreneurs in Kampala central division and SACCOs have myriad challenges in their struggle to achieve the success of women enterprises. The study that government should finance SACCOs and SACCOs should seek for credit facilities from commercial banks. | en_US |