Email: v.p.balasuriya@ncl.ac.uk

Supervisors: Prof Mathew Gorton, Prof Jeremy Phillipson and Dr Jonathan Kimmitt

Project overview

Numerous agencies have initiated programmes and policies to promote and develop entrepreneurship among women in developing and post-conflict countries.

Despite these efforts, the predicament of women in impoverished, fragile and post-conflict countries is a major problem.

The use of microfinance in war-torn and developing societies is often seen as an effective strategy for advancing local economic development.

However, the appropriateness of microfinance in post-conflict societies remains uncertain.

Despite the growing number of initiatives and allocation of resources focused to promote and develop women-owned businesses, women earn less money and own and manage fewer businesses.

Against this backdrop, I wanted to understand whether microfinance helps women entrepreneurs in post-conflict economies and if so, how should it best be provided. 

Therefore, the aim of this empirical research is to provide an analysis of the performance of microfinance for women entrepreneurs operating in a post-conflict environment.

The study adopts an explanatory (sequential), mixed-methods research design.

The first phase, quantitative, involves an exploration of a microfinance programme (database), funded by the World Bank, that provides evidence for microfinance performance.

The second phase, qualitative, comprises face-to-face interviews that attempt to understand the entrepreneurial actions of the women in a post-conflict environment.