Impact of Financial Inclusion on the Women SME Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Abstract

Financial inclusion is a critical issue for enhancing the welfare of an economy as well as reducing income inequality by providing access to efficient financial services to both the privileged and the poor people of the country .Financial inclusion is a significant issue in Bangladesh as the majority of the population- especially women, farmers, and individuals do not have access to basic financial services such as credit, insurance, payment, etc. Thus, this paper aims at identifying the impacts of financial inclusion on the women SME entrepreneurs of Bangladesh .To conduct this research, 207 respondents were chosen from those women who either initiated their own SME or worked as an employee in one .A structured questionnaire with 5 points Likert scale was used to collect primary data .Multivariate analysis techniques like factor analysis, multiple regression analysis were performed to identify the impacts of financial inclusions on the women SME entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. The study finds the impact factors of financial inclusion on women SME entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Factors such as, easiness in payment, comfortable in transaction, reduced unemployment problem due to the creation of agents, no network problem in transaction, and secured area coverage were found significant impact factors of financial inclusion on the women SME entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Small and Medium Enterprises, Women SME Entrepreneurs, Easiness in Payment, Regression Analysis.

JEL Classification: G20, L26, O31, O33