Abstract:
In many developing countries, culture and tradition have contributed to the
disempowerment of women. In these countries, a women's time is divided between the
reproductive role of creating a family, the productive role of feeding the family, and
balancing all the demands. This has resulted in 1) higher unemployment rate for women
than men in virtually every developing country as reported by the World Bank gender
statistics database, and 2) women having low self-confidence and self-esteem.
Furthermore, when living outside their country with little or almost nothing, refugee women
live in camps, temporary shelters, collective centres or rent a house in a host country
where they compete with the local populations for property as well as natural and social
resources, while being excluded from some of the basic rights through restrictive
regulations imposed by the host country.
Building upon the widely known facts that women more likely reinvest their earnings in a
business and their families and spend more of their extra income on things that help
develop human capital, better sanitation, better nutrition and also better health care and
education, this study addresses the application of microfinance with the objective of
empowering Congolese refugee women in the Western Cape in South Africa.
The theoretical contributions of this study are twofold. Firstly, an analysis of the situation
of the Congolese refugee women is presented in terms of their predicaments and
opportunities in SA, using a survey. Secondly, building upon the conclusions of this
survey, a support and empowerment microfinance approach adapted to the Congolese
refugee women community is derived. As practical contribution, this study proposes the
development of a business model that will cater for Congolese women refugees and its
implementation through the creation of a non-governmental organisation in the Western
Cape.
