FACTORS INFLUENCE SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO RURAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

Abstract

Access to rural financial services is crucial to eradicate poverty by promoting rural economic growth. The objectives of the study were to understand the purpose of credit use and to estimate the contribution of selected factors to sustainable access to rural financial services. A structured questionnaire was employed for collecting data from three villages, namely, Sarker para, Shaha para, and Durgapur of Mithapukur upazila, Rangpur district. Data were collected from 102 respondents from January 18 to 25 February, 2017. The concept of ‘sustainable access to rural financial services’ is operationalised and measured by following established literature, e.g., World Bank study. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r), and multiple regressions (B) were used for data analysis. Results indicate that (i) the highest 22.55 percent of respondents were used credit for opening small businesses, (ii) an overwhelming majority (92.2 percent) of the respondents had moderately to highly sustainable access to rural financial services, and (iii) strongly correlated and important contributing factors were ICT access (0.765), needs of credit (0.737) and others. The findings concluded that sustainable access to rural financial services can be achieved by enhancing women’s access to ICT. The study recommended that improving women’s ICT access can be an important strategy for promoting sustainable access to rural financial services.