More than money: the role of microcredit-systems for gender specific social change in developing countries.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Jubiläumsfonds)

Microcredit systems play an important role in development cooperation, especially in connection with the empowerment of women. The project is dedicated to the following question: How can cultural anchored gender attributions be modified through economic incentives and which framework has to be set up in order to establish sustainable social change. In this context, entrepreneurship is of special importance. Those scientific research questions should be scrutinized on the basis of experiences from female family members of (convicted) men who are imprisoned in Middle-Egypt. According to a project-evaluation dealing with “empowerment of women” from July 2005, especially those women are confronted with serious social exclusions. Therefore, this research project aims to explore a comprehensive picture of the role of microcredit-systems in connection with entrepreneurship for social change concerning existing gender relations and to develop correspondingly economic implementation strategies.