Women Marketeers’ Awareness of and Access to Microfinance in Rural Zambia: Evidence from Kamwanya Market, Mpika District

Abstract

This study assessed women marketeers’ awareness of and access to microfinance services in rural Zambia, using Kamwanya Market in Mpika District as a case study. Specifically, it determined the level of awareness, examined factors influencing accessibility, and tested the association between awareness and accessibility. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design involved 100 participants: 90 women marketeers completed a structured questionnaire, while five microfinance representatives and five market or local leaders provided explanatory qualitative accounts. Quantitative data were summarised using frequencies, percentages, item means and composite categories; Pearson’s chi-square tested the association between awareness and accessibility. Qualitative accounts were analysed thematically and integrated with the numerical results. The analytical dataset produced an awareness mean of 2.73 and an accessibility mean of 2.62 on five-point scales. Forty-two women were classified as having low awareness and 42 as having constrained accessibility. Collateral, interest or service charges, and lack of information were the most frequently reported principal barriers. Awareness and accessibility were significantly associated, χ²(1, N = 90) = 19.401, p < .001, φ = .464. Informant accounts linked the pattern to irregular outreach, incomplete information about costs and eligibility, documentation demands, travel burden, trust, and repayment schedules that did not consistently fit trading cash flow. The study concludes that awareness facilitates access but cannot independently overcome structural barriers. It recommends recurring market-based education, transparent product disclosure, pre-screening and assisted application, alternative security, cash-flow-sensitive products, provider–market coordination, follow-up and consumer protection. All statistics and excerpts require confirmation against the author’s authenticated field records before submission.