A Scoping Review of the Contribution of Microfinance on Women Empowerment in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Microfinance is a key strategy in global development, especially in advancing gender equity. Women constitute approximately 81% of microfinance borrowers because of their repayment reliability and prioritization of household welfare. This scoping review assessed the extent to which microfinance contributes to women’s empowerment by synthesizing empirical evidence, identifying gaps, and proposing directions for future research. The review followed PRISMA guidelines. Searches were conducted across five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, and Business Source Premier) using Boolean logic with thematic and geographic filters. From an initial 500 studies, 300 were retained after title and abstract screening, and 150 underwent full-text review. The inclusion criteria included quantitative and mixed methods with inferential statistics, wholly qualitative were excluded and the final draft yielded 28 articles. The review employed descriptive statistics and thematic coding. Findings show that women’s empowerment was the most researched outcome (n=20), followed by economic empowerment (n=5), focusing on income, assets, and enterprise sustainability. Social empowerment (n=2) and decision-making power (n=1) were the least examined. Geographically, studies were concentrated in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal) and East Africa, with Kenya accounting for the highest representation, with 60% occurring in East Africa. The most applied theory was Kabeer’s Empowerment Framework, often linked with Feminist Economics for overall empowerment outcomes. Human Capital Theory and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework were prominent in economic empowerment studies, while Social Capital Theory was used to explain social empowerment. The main target populations were rural and peri-urban low-income women, particularly married women engaged in group-based lending such as Self-Help Groups. For economic empowerment, the population focus was primarily on women microentrepreneurs (60%), with smaller proportions of married women in rural microcredit programs (20%) and women-owned SMEs (20%) . Across all outcomes, the most studied independent variable (IV) was access to microfinance or participation in microcredit programs, while other IVs included group lending participation, education, and financial literacy. The review identified some key gaps. Theoretically, there is overreliance on linear empowerment models with little integration of psychological or institutional frameworks, while contextually West and North Africa, Latin America are underrepresented and marginalized groups such as widows and women with disabilities are underexplored. Methodologically, studies are dominated by cross-sectional, self-reported designs with limited longitudinal or quasi-experimental studies, and empirically, there is weakness in tracking sustainability of empowerment gains, especially in political participation and psychological well-being. Future research should adopt mixed-methods and longitudinal designs, expand theoretical foundations to include intersectional and institutional perspectives, and focus on underrepresented populations. Policy interventions should move beyond credit provision to integrate financial services with training, rights awareness, and market linkages that strengthen women’s long-term empowerment.