Chapter 5: Banking on Women for Poverty Reduction: Portrait of Kenya Women’s Finance Trust

Poverty in Kenya is so extreme that over 50% of the population survives on less than a dollar a day. Gender has a strong impact on poverty levels with over 70% of the poor being women. Cultural norms, inequitable government policies, lack of access to credit, limited educational opportunities for girls, and other contextual factors limit women’s economic opportunities. In the face of these challenges, Kenya Women’s Finance Trust (KWFT) has emerged as a microcredit lending institution committed to increasing women’s access to financial resources through provision of credit plus financial management education. This chapter describes how KWFT and its CEO, Dr. Jeniffer Riria, have worked toward the reduction of poverty by banking on women. It discusses the business strategies that Dr. Riria and her team utilize to make KWFT both profitable and able to meet the immense credit needs of women entrepreneurs. The chapter is based on a field study conducted in Kenya in the summer of 2005 on leadership for social justice. Data collection included interviews with Dr. Riria and archival documents from and about the institution.