Microfinance Services and the Growth of Women-Owned Businesses in Selected Niger Delta States in Nigeria

This study investigates the effect of microfinance services on the growth of women-owned businesses in selected Niger Delta states, Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional survey design, primary data were collected from 435 women entrepreneurs selected from a sample of 442 through a structured questionnaire. The study examined the influence of access to microcredit, entrepreneurship training, savings services, business advisory services, insurance services, and digital financial services on business growth. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondents' characteristics, while Binary Logit regression was employed to estimate the determinants of business growth, with the Binary Probit model used as a robustness check. The results indicate that access to microcredit, entrepreneurship training, savings services, business advisory services, and digital financial services significantly increase the probability of business growth, whereas insurance services have a positive but statistically insignificant effect. The Probit estimates closely mirror the Logit results, confirming the robustness of the findings across alternative model specifications. The study concludes that integrating financial and non-financial microfinance services is critical for enhancing the growth and sustainability of women-owned businesses. It recommends expanding access to affordable credit, strengthening entrepreneurship development programmes, and accelerating digital financial inclusion to improve the performance of women-owned enterprises and promote inclusive economic development in the Niger Delta region.