Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation: A case study on the role of Microfinance Institutions working in South Punjab

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the role of entrepreneurship in poverty alleviation in the Southern Punjab. There are two aspects of entrepreneurship that are considered: qualitative growth for entrepreneurs and quantitative growth for entrepreneurs. This study is based on primary data analysis and the targeted population is customers of microfinance institutions who are involved in microcredit activities. A total of 180 respondents are included for data analysis. After monitoring and screening, reliability analysis and descriptive statistics were used as a measure for data quality. The correlation matrix explained the relationship between dependent and independent factors, and empirical findings indicated that there is a significant and negative relationship between entrepreneurship and poverty. Finally, regression analysis was tested in which three hypotheses were tested. Empirical evidence suggests that qualitative growth for entrepreneurs, quantitative growth for entrepreneurs, and overall entrepreneurship have shown significant and negative relationships with poverty. This study has policy implications for bankers and policy makers, especially at the government level, as there is a need to further consider the microfinance concepts which can play a significant role in the reduction of poverty in less developed areas of Pakistan.