Drawing upon the data from the recent period, this paper explores the relationship between women’s involvement in microfinance programs and improvement in their empowerment status.

Formal financial institutions (FFIs) in a developing economy often fail to meet the loan requirements of the poor. It is frequently stated that the poor are non bankable. Given this, several models and structures have emerged for making them bankable.

The Human Development Report for 1995 published by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) made a striking revelation that there was not a single country where women enjoyed equality with men.