...TERMS * Rural Financial Services Project (Africa Development Bank, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, World Bank): refers to a project being undertaken by the above bodies to provide financial services to the rural dwellers to enhance development. * Credit risk: This refers to the degree to which it is likely that a borrower or debtor may not repay a loan or debt. It also means a particular borrower or debtor perceived by a lender or creditor as being particularly not likely to repay a debt. (Microsoft Encarta 2007). | | | INTRODUCTION Poverty is one of the problems faced by the people living in the rural areas and this largely affects their lifestyles both socially and economically. Along with poverty, many other social problems or issues can be pointed out including unemployment, lack of education, lack of proper governance and over population. These problems are associated with poverty and most of the time regarded as causes or effects. In government’s bid to eradicate poverty from the rural areas, it adopted strategies and one of such strategies is microfinance. Microfinance involves the application of innovative methodologies that make financial services available to relatively poor households and microenterprises. Microfinance can also be termed as the practice of providing financial services including micro credit, micro savings and micro insurance to poverty stricken or poor individuals, such that they are assisted to collect large sums of money...
Words: 3433 - Pages: 14
...headings are discussed: Background of the Study, Statement of the study, Objectives of the study, Research Questions, Significance of the study, Scope and Limitation(s), Definition of terms and the Organization of the study or Chapters 1.1 Background of the Study The Rural Banking concept was introduced in the mid-1970s. The motives were to mobilize savings from the rural areas and in turn make institutional credit available to the Rural Economy. The need for improved financial intermediation in the rural economy became paramount because of the non-availability of formal institutions and the fact that most rural dwellers are engaged in agriculture. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy and until recently the largest contributor to GDP. (Yahiya, research Dept. of BOG, 2013) Despite the potential resources existing in the rural areas, farmers and small entrepreneurs lack the required institutional credit to play the expected meaningful role in the Economy. The peasant farmer had to rely on informal operators such as Mobile Bankers locally known as Susu Collectors, and self-help groups and money lenders for his credit needs. These creditors charge exorbitant interest rates which, in most cases, aggravates the poverty state of the borrowers. The bank of Ghana, in a bid to take care of the credit and other financial needs of the rural people, therefore encouraged Commercial Banks to expand their rural networks. The Agricultural Development Bank, for example, which...
Words: 15274 - Pages: 62
...of the economy of Ghana in the last two decades has been derived from the greater interaction between it and other economies. Thus, following economic reforms that focused considerably on opening the economy to greater and freer external trade, globalization has been a major aspect of the economy and society. But this influence has been observed not only in the area of external trade; it is seen also in terms of capital flows, aid, technology transfer, international migration, etc. All of these have seen significant expansion in the period of reforms, even if this has been on a scale far smaller than in South East Asia and the other faster growing developing economies. Globalization has definitely created opportunities for various parts of the economy to gain access to larger pools of resources as well as markets. While this may generally be perceived to have impacted positively on the beneficiaries, there are also indications that globalization has introduced new risks to environments that were hitherto closed to those risks. The increased risk may, in some cases, have accentuated poverty and worsened income distribution in parts of the country. While poverty has always been generally closely associated with the condition of African states, its link with globalization is a more recent development, and is much less understood. The relationship between globalization and poverty is obscured by the fact that for long poverty was more generally associated with rural economies...
Words: 17946 - Pages: 72
...CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Many people in developing countries neither have their own bank accounts nor are they able to take out loans, transfer money or insure their families against risks such as illness, accident or death. In most cases, access to these financial services that are so central to sustainable development are either denied or made very difficult. Consequently, people frequently have no choice but to resort to local moneylenders who charge usurious rates of interest or use informal and, therefore, insecure ways of performing transactions such as payments and money transfer. The above is reflected in the quotation by the past Secretary-General of the United Nations: ‘‘The stark reality is that most people in the world still lack access to sustainable financial services, whether it is savings, credit or insurance. The great challenge before us is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector. Together, we can and must build inclusive financial sectors that help people improve their lives (United Nations, 1997).’’ With almost thirty per cent of the country's population living in poverty, the Government of Ghana clearly faces an enormous challenge to reduce poverty especially in the three northern savannah regions where there is the greatest concentration of poor people. To achieve rapid and sustainable reduction in poverty, it is necessary to have an integrated policy with the various...
Words: 20209 - Pages: 81
...KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS THE USE OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING CORPORATE OBJECTIVE IN THE MICROFINANCE SECTOR. (A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS) BY: ACKON BEATRICE APRAKU ESTHER ASABEA OPPONG-SEKUM KINGSLEY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPTION) MAY, 2015 DECLARATION We the undersigned, declare that this is the result of our own research work carried out in the School of Business, and under the supervision of Mr. Emmanuel Oheneba-Acquah ACKON BEATRICE 8535512 …………………………… …………………………… APRAKU ESTHER ASABEA 8548912 …………………………… …………………………… SEKUM-OPPONG KINGSLEY 8584412 …………………………… …………………………… CERTIFIED BY: EMMANUEL OHENEBA-ACQUAH……………………….. ……………………………. (SUPERVISOR) SIGNATURE DATE MR. J.E TURKSON ………………….. ……………………………. (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT) SIGNATURE DATE DEDICATION This study is dedicated to the Almighty God, we made this possible despite the many challenges faced and to our supervisor Mr. Emmanuel Oheneba-Acquah whose patience and intellect, guided us through this whole phase. We appreciate you! ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...
Words: 13024 - Pages: 53
...price stabilization and opening up may not be enough to achieve a rise in the trend rates of investment and growth. Recognizing this evidence, policy emphasis has shifted to pinpointing complementary policies that will lead an economy from stabilization to growth. The policy debate today focuses on reforms. Ghana immediately after independence made tremendous effort towards achieving full employment and socio economic development through public investment in medium and large scale enterprises. Notwithstanding the direct involvement and the effort of the government, the sector is saddled with a lot of constraints, including scarce capital, intensive technology, foreign exchange constraints, poor management, corruption and inadequate attention to economic viability and market prospects which has resulted in poor performance of the industries in terms of output and employment (Steel & Webster, 1992). Following an economic recession in the 1980’s which resulted in the retrenchment of workers from the civil service, the rationalization of production in the private sector under the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) was launched in 1983, and the high population growth rate of 2.6% per annum, coupled with the inability of the medium and large scale enterprises to grow and expand over time to absorb the idle labour, the SMEs has become an important option and alternative source of employment. SMEs have been...
Words: 21472 - Pages: 86
...INTERCONNECTIVITY PROJECT ON THE PROFITABILITY OF RURAL BANKS A CASE OF SOUTH AKIM RURAL BANK LIMITED INTRODUCTION Background Statement It can be said universally that the rate of change and expansion that organisations are striving to achieve has been ambitious. The rural banking sector is no exception. Profitability of banks has improved tremendously. Current trends show that banking is more profitable through the use of technology. The rural banking concept was introduced to bridge the rural urban gap of financial transaction (Addo 1998). Since their inception the rural banks have been at the fore front of developing proper innovative financial product and modifying their operations to suit the specific needs of the rural farmer, the underserved micro enterprise and other low income operatives of the rural economy (Obeng 2009, Owusu Ansah1999) The objective of rural banks include the following, to provide basic financial services to the rural folks .To play a financial intermediary role by mobilizing financial resources from within their area of operation and channelling such funds to support viable ventures and thus invariably improve the socio-economic well-being of the people in the communities they serve, to inculcate banking culture and attitude into the rural folks in order to stem the tide of high volume of liquidity circulating outside the Ghanaian banking system by channelling mobilised idle funds into productive ventures...
Words: 9206 - Pages: 37
...Prospects and Problems of Islamic Banking from Bank’s Perspective: A Study of Bangladesh Dr. Muhammad Z Mamun 1 This paper focuses on the prospect and growth potentials of Islamic banks in Bangladesh as perceived by Islamic and conventional bankers. The study noted that there is a high demand for interest-free banking services from a segment of people in Bangladesh who have a strong desire to abide by the rules and principals set by Shariah. Along with religious requirement, economic exigencies provide a new outlook to the role of banking in promoting investment/ productive activities, influencing distribution of income and adding stability to the economy. The Islamic banking sector is, however, criticized on several grounds by the Conventional bankers. The banks are believed not to apply the rules of Shariah completely. Islamic banks are said to include interest in their dealings to compete effectively with the Conventional banks. Moreover, conventional banks offering Islamic banking as a parallel service are thought to do so only to add to their profitability, by attracting people who value the Shariah based system by enjoying the advantages of the special treatments from the Central bank. According to the survey, suitable and supportive legal framework would facilitate better growth of this sector. Moreover, the lack of an inter-bank money market and sufficient supportive and link institutions in the sector, act as impediments to growth of Islamic banking. Also, banks perceive the...
Words: 11603 - Pages: 47
...the key roles and function of the financial markets are highlighted with the thrust of the discussion on the core issue of how the market works; directly and indirectly. One of the most important factors for rapid economic development is the effective mobilization and allocation of scarce resources within an economy. These resources can be real or financial, but they are scarce and command a price. The establishment of effective and efficient channel for the mobilization and allocation of scarce financial resources is therefore essential. The financial market, comprising of the money and capital markets, occupies an important place in most economies of the world. The primary function of a financial market is to enable funds to be sufficiently allocated from the surplus units of the economy to the deficit units for productive investment. The greater the transmission efficiency is, the higher the rate of growth of the economy (Olowe, 1997). The money market trades only in securities or debt instruments maturing in less than twelve months, while in the capital market, longer term debts as well as equity instruments are traded. The complementarity between money market and capital market is necessary for a balanced development of the financial system. (NSE Fact Book 2010) The money market is a market for the mobilization, allocation and trading in short-term funds. It is, thus, a market for trading in short-term financial instruments. The major participants in the money market...
Words: 11803 - Pages: 48
...PURE GOLD TO BE THE LEADING MINING COMPANY To create value for our shareholders, our employees and our business and social partners through safely and responsibly exploring, mining and marketing our products. Our primary focus is gold and we will pursue value creating opportunities in other minerals where we can leverage our existing assets, skills and experience to enhance the delivery of value. Safety is our first value. We place people first and correspondingly put the highest priority on safe and healthy practices and systems of work. We are responsible for seeking out new and innovative ways to ensure that our workplaces are free of occupational injury and illness. We live each day for each other and use our collective commitment, talents, resources and systems to deliver on our most important commitment ... to care. We are accountable for our actions and undertake to deliver on our commitments. We are focused on delivering results and we do what we say we will do. We accept responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for our work, our behaviour, our ethics and our actions. We aim to deliver high performance outcomes and undertake to deliver on our commitments to our colleagues, business and social partners, and our investors. We treat each other with dignity and respect. We believe that individuals who are treated with respect and who are entrusted to take responsibility respond by giving their best. We seek to preserve people's dignity, their sense...
Words: 149499 - Pages: 598
...Mekelle University College of Business and Economics Department of Accounting and Finance THE DETERMINANTS OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE Evidence from Commercial Banks in Ethiopia By K i b ro m M e h a ri F i s s e h a Reg.No.-CBE/PR0025/01 Research Project Submitted to the Department of Accounting and Finance, College of Business and Economics, Mekelle University, for the partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Finance and Investment Under the Guidance of Aregawi Gebremichael (Ph.D. Candidate) Assistant Professor May, 2010 Mekelle, Ethiopia i THE DETERMINANTS OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE Evidence from Commercial Banks in Ethiopia By Kibrom Mehari Fisseha Reg. No. CBE/PR0025/01 ii DECLARATION I, Kibrom Mehari Fisseha, hereby declare that the project work entitled “The Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Commercial Banks in Ethiopia” submitted by me for the award of the degree of Master of Science in Finance and Investment of Mekelle University, is original work and it hasn’t been presented for the award of any other Degree, Diploma, Fellowship or other similar titles of any other university or institution. Place: Mekelle Signature: Date: May, 2010 ………………….. KIBROM MEHARI FISSEHA iii CERTIFICATION I certify that the project work entitled “The Determinants of Capital Structure” is a bona-fide work of Mr. Kibrom Mehari who carried out the research under my guidance. Certified further, that to the best of my...
Words: 26591 - Pages: 107
...Dictionary entries are usually terse and restricted in their depth of explanation. Student textbooks tend to provide broad overviews of particular topics or the philosophy of Human Geography, but rarely provide a detailed overview of particular concepts, their premises, development over time and empirical use. Research monographs most often focus on particular issues and a limited number of concepts at a very advanced level, so do not offer an expansive and accessible overview of the variety of concepts in use within a subdiscipline. The Key Concepts in Human Geography series seeks to fill this gap, providing detailed description and discussion of the concepts that are at the heart of theoretical and empirical research in contemporary Human Geography. Each book consists of an introductory chapter that outlines the major conceptual developments over time along with approximately twenty-five entries on the core concepts that constitute the theoretical toolkit of geographers working within a specific subdiscipline. Each entry provides a detailed explanation of the concept, outlining contested definitions and approaches, the evolution of how the concept has been used to understand particular geographic phenomena, and suggested further reading. In so doing, each book constitutes an invaluable companion guide to geographers grappling with how to research, understand and explain the world we inhabit. Rob Kitchin Series...
Words: 94626 - Pages: 379
...DECLARATION The group hereby declares that except for references to other people’s work, which has been acknowledged, this dissertation is the outcome of our own independent investigation under the supervision of Mr. Sumani John Bosco. NAME ID SIGNATURE GYAMFI KINGSLEY KWAKU IDS/3498/06 ………………………….. JEBUNI BERNARD IDS/3548/06 …………………………. SALIA ELIZABETH ZENABU IDS/3794/06 ………………………… YANGFO JACOB IDS/3902/06 ………………………… ZIEM ABRAHAM IDS/3934/06 ………………………… …………………………… Mr. Sumani John Bosco (Supervisor) Date…………………….. DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the parents and relatives of the group members for their love, care, prayers and support. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The group wishes to render its first thanks to the Almighty God without whose divine intervention the work would not have been possible. We also acknowledge the immense contribution of the chiefs, elders and people of Zanko and Sokpayiri communities who contributed in diverse ways to making our research a successful one. The group also...
Words: 13524 - Pages: 55
...23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism HA-JOON CHANG Department of Economics, Cambridge University 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism HA-JOON CHANG ALLEN LANE an imprint of PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Canada Inc.) Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Dehli – 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England www.penguin.com First published 2010 Copyright © Ha-Joon Chang, 2010 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording...
Words: 86029 - Pages: 345
...U N I T E D N AT I O N S C O N F E R E N C E O N T R A D E A N D D E V E L O P M E N T WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2013 GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: INVESTMENT AND TRADE FOR DEVELOPMENT New York and Geneva, 2013 ii World Investment Report 2013: Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade for Development NOTE The Division on Investment and Enterprise of UNCTAD is a global centre of excellence, dealing with issues related to investment and enterprise development in the United Nations System. It builds on four decades of experience and international expertise in research and policy analysis, intergovernmental consensusbuilding, and provides technical assistance to over 150 countries. The terms country/economy as used in this Report also refer, as appropriate, to territories or areas; the designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In addition, the designations of country groups are intended solely for statistical or analytical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage of development reached by a particular country or area in the development process. The major country groupings used in this Report follow the classification of the United Nations Statistical Office. These are:...
Words: 156671 - Pages: 627
