Inside the Financial Lives of Women Entrepreneurs

Grameen America's mission is to empower women in low-income households in the United States to achieve economic mobility through entrepreneurship by providing group-based microloans. A previous randomized controlled trial conducted by MDRC found that Grameen America contributed to reducing material hardship—characterized by the inability to afford basic needs such as food, shelter, or healthcare—and improving nonretirement savings, credit scores, social support, and overall well-being. The study prompted an important follow-up question: how could improvements across multiple aspects of borrowers’ financial lives occur despite only modest increases in monthly net income? 

To better understand how financial well-being improved without large net income gains (although gross income rose by over $6,000 annually), MDRC conducted a 12-month mixed-methods follow-up study called the Grameen Financial Diaries study. The research team analyzed interview data and detailed financial transactions from Grameen America borrowers to shed light on their financial lives—that is, how they understand the connections between business ownership, wage-based work, savings and material hardship, and how those perspectives shape both business and personal financial decisions.

The findings demonstrated the importance of increased cash flow and access to liquid resources to financial well-being. Borrowers blended business and household finances to meet immediate needs, navigated instability shaped by seasonal income shifts and unexpected shocks, and relied on a mix of wage income, business revenue, credit and informal support to stay afloat. Despite these pressures, borrowers demonstrated resilience and drew purpose from their businesses, even as longterm goals often took a back seat to urgent financial demands.