Implications of Access to Microcredit and Social Capital for Female Entrepreneurship in Cameroon

This paper investigates the effects of microcredit and social capital on female entrepreneurship in Cameroon. It attempts to construct a social capital indicator for Cameroon and identify individual and community characteristics that affect female entrepreneurship. The paper compares welfare outcomes for female entrepreneurs having access to both social capital and credit with those of their counterparts, who do not have such access. The paper covers the following sections in detail:

• Introduction to the concepts of microfinance, social capital, and a discussion on the need for access to credit by female entrepreneurs;
• Methodology of the study with a focus on three different approaches: multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), logit regression analysis, and welfare indices and dominance analysis;
• Results from the study with a focus on the main drivers of female entrepreneurship and the impact of microcredit and social capital on the probability of female entrepreneurship in the country;
• Policy recommendations to promote female entrepreneurship.