Woman entrepreneurship and micro-credit applications in women's empowerment: Bağcılar case

This research was conducted in order to evaluate women's entrepreneurship and micro-credit Implementations in women's empowerment through their own experiences. The subject of this research is analysis of effects of getting micro credit for continuing their life, founding or developing their own business environment on socio-economic life of women who have different levels of education and income and live in Istanbul. Within the scope of the research, 13 women who got micro credits and the manager of İstanbul Vuslat Doğan Sabancı Bağcılar Microfinance Branch was interviewed face-to-face in İstanbul Vuslat Doğan Sabancı Bağcılar Microfinance Branch and on the phone. A qualitative phenomenology study has been done. The data were evaluated by analyzing the content. As a result, it has been understood that women who are engaged in a business with micro credit or who continue their existing business can not be defined as entrepreneurs. Each of the women who got micro credits experienced a change with micro credit according to the special conditions they lived in. This change is seen more often in women who have never worked and thus have not earned money, but it is not seen in women who already have a job. The issue, that has been changed for women, is that they earn a special income for them without needing anybody. In other words, getting micro-credit by women is front plan of dimensions of women empowerment. Nevertheless, they approximately earn as much as minimum wage from their business founded by getting micro-credits and remain at the poverty line with other income coming into their homes. No matter how little their earnings are and limit of the micro-credit; micro-credit is still a reliable debt gateway for women. There was no significant change in the participation of women in domestic decisions related to family. However, this does not mean that women are weak, but rather it shows that they had been involved in these decisions before they got micro-credit. In other words, contrary to what is believed, all women who got micro credits can not be considered as weak and as a homogeneous group. However, when it comes to domestic responsibilities, the opposite situation arises. In other words, women overcome responsibilities about all of these things before and after getting micro-credit. This causes them to spend too much time in their social lives. Solidarity groups do not offer any support for women. These groups was with women who knew each others before so that women can't enter a new social circle. Even most women do not even go out of the circle they live in. It also shows that micro-credit does not have positive effect socially. Business that qualification is not required and are labor-intensive, carried out by getting micro-credit, also cause that women contribute to development only quantitatively, not qualitatively. Micro credit will be a useful mechanism for women if it is organized according to the community's priorities, dynamics and women's needs. Some problems that are already existing in society are too big to be solved with a single project and It is required to be found out other ways to solve these problems. Micro-credit is a developable opportunity. Studies on micro-credit may contribute to be brought better position of this project or lead to develop other ideas in this subject.