Factors Affecting Savings of Women Lead Households in Self Help Groups: The Case Study on Wolaita Sodo Town

Abstract

Self Help Group (SHG) is mainly considered as mutual assistance group through which individuals undertake common activities to improve their own lives. It is an approach in which women are organized in groups of 15-20 members by affinity basis. This research was aimed to assess the factors affecting savings of women-led households in self-help groups. Multistage sampling technique was deployed in the study. From 1800 registered SHG members, the sample size of 252 samples identified through simple random sampling technique. Household survey and in-depth interview were conducted and data captured using structured questionnaire. Both primary and secondary data were used for analysis. Quantitative data collected were analyzed using SPSS 21 version and presented the mean, percentage, chi-square, T-value and binary logit model output according to research objectives. Descriptive statistics was computed followed by binary logit model that revealed: education level of SHGs members, family size, social participation, number of trainings received, members' perception, and annual income and participation in generating activities (IGAs) found to be significant. According to paired sample T-test result saving improvement between two consecutive years was not as such satisfactory. The final recommendations forwarded were: due consideration should be given to reduce SHGs members' social ceremonies celebrations, promoting family planning program, focusing on functional adult literacy, envision groups, tailored training of members and IGAs promotion by both government and other organizations working on SHGs development as they had either positive or negative influence on WLHHS saving improvement.