A study of barriers to the uptake of microfinance for improving sanitation facilities for poor women

The study aims to identify barriers to the uptake of microfinance for the improvement of sanitation for poor women in India. A qualitative approach is used. It involved conducting in-depth interviews with 27 slum-dwelling women, and ten bank officials, NGOs, and municipal corporations. The main demand-sidebarriers to uptake were lack of knowledge about financing availability, no perceived need for microfinance, and general inertia towards safe sanitation. The supply-side barriers were high risk, lack of funds for urban household toilet construction, and low return on loans for such purposes to financial institutions. In conclusion, because the municipal corporation uses public funds to meet the costs of construction, the community expects the corporation to provide toilets for the slums, thereby obscuring the perceived need for microfinance. Other developing countries facing similar issues may like to consider restricting public funding for sanitation and put the responsibility on the households to build such facilities out of microfinance.