An Analysis of the Effects of Membership Homogeneity on the Design and Performance of Formal Agricultural Microcredit Groups in Southeast, Nigeria.

📄 Project Abstract

This study was an empirical analysis of the effects of membership homogeneity on the design and performance of formal agricultural micro-credit groups in Southeast, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the nature of the design characteristics (Credit allocation method, Credit size and membership size) and also assessed the performance (Loan repayment, Savings mobilization and Meeting regularity) of the formal agricultural micro-credit groups with regard to their functions in financial intermediation. The study also determined the effects of membership homogeneity (Same age, education, occupation, tribe, religion, marital status) on the design and performance of the formal agricultural micro-credit groups in the study area, as well as challenges from the viewpoints of the group members and operators of micro-credit. Two hypotheses were investigated to enhance the understanding of each set of design and performance characteristics and hence explain their relationship with one anothe...