Impact of Microfinance Institutions on Women’s Economic Empowerment in North Central Nigeria: Evidence from Niger and Kogi States

This study evaluates the impact of microfinance institution services on economic empowerment outcomes for women in Niger and Kogi states, North Central Nigeria. Microfinance has long been promoted as a poverty reduction and women's empowerment tool, yet the empirical evidence from North Central Nigeria remains limited, particularly regarding the differentiated effects across rural-urban contexts and loan product types. Drawing on feminist political economy and microfinance impact theory, and recent evaluation literature from 2019 to 2024, the study employs a quasi-experimental research design. Using a propensity score matching approach, a treatment group of 280 active women microfinance clients is compared with a control group of 200 non-client women matched on demographic and socio-economic characteristics across four local government areas in each state. Data are gathered through structured impact assessment questionnaires. Average treatment effect estimates are computed for outcome variables including household income, savings accumulation, business asset ownership, and women's decision-making authority. The study expects to find positive and significant effects on income and savings but more modest effects on intra-household decision-making authority, particularly in rural communities with stronger patriarchal norms. It also analyses how loan default rates and interest rate structures moderate impact. Findings will contribute rigorous causal evidence to the microfinance-empowerment debate and generate recommendations for improving product design and targeting in North Central Nigerian microfinance programming. Keywords: microfinance, women's empowerment, propensity score matching, North Central Nigeria, poverty reduction