Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Post-War Sierra Leone
This research proposal investigates the effectiveness of microfinance as a poverty-reduction tool in post-conflict Sierra Leone. The paper begins by establishing the severity of Sierra Leone's poverty crisis — where roughly 70% of the population lives below the national poverty line — before surveying existing government anti-poverty strategies documented under the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy. A literature review connects microfinance theory to empirical evidence from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kosovo, while identifying significant gaps in research focused on war-torn African countries. The final chapter outlines a mixed-methods methodological framework combining primary questionnaire data and secondary qualitative sources, justified through positivist and interpretivist philosophical positions. The study aims to guide Sierra Leonean policymakers toward more effective microcredit interventions.
- Introduction and Background: Sierra Leone's poverty crisis and study purpose
- Purpose, Rationale, and Research Questions: Research questions, rationale, and study objectives
- Overview of Poverty in Sierra Leone: Rural poverty statistics and inequality data
- Anti-Poverty Strategies and the Microfinance Sector: Government strategies and microfinance sector weaknesses
- Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: Theoretical and Empirical Links: Comparative evidence from Kosovo, Pakistan, Bangladesh
- Methodological Framework: Mixed-methods design and philosophical justification
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds the argument in concrete statistics (Gini coefficient, GDP per capita, poverty headcount ratios) that immediately establish the scale of the problem.
- Moves logically from problem identification to policy gap to proposed solution, giving the proposal a coherent, persuasive architecture.
- Integrates comparative evidence from Kosovo, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to justify the microfinance hypothesis while honestly acknowledging conflicting findings.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper exemplifies methods triangulation — explicitly justifying the use of both quantitative (questionnaire/SPSS) and qualitative (government reports, peer-reviewed articles) data, then linking each technique to a philosophical position (positivism vs. interpretivism). This dual-justification structure shows graduate-level awareness that methodological choices carry epistemological implications.
Structure breakdown
The proposal follows a standard three-chapter research-proposal format. Chapter One introduces the problem, states the rationale, and lists research questions and objectives. Chapter Two conducts a literature review in two parts: macro-level poverty statistics and policy analysis, then a focused review of microfinance theory and comparative empirical studies. Chapter Three presents and defends the methodological design, covering the primary/secondary distinction, qualitative/quantitative trade-offs, and the positivism/interpretivism debate. The references section closes the paper in APA style.
Introduction and Background
A decade and a half into the 21st century, issues of poor growth, poverty, and civil war continue to afflict populations and inhibit sustainable development in countries across the world, particularly on the African continent. The bottom ten spots in the UNDP 2014 Human Development Index ranking were all occupied by African countries — Niger, Congo, the Central African Republic, Chad, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea, and Mozambique (UNDP Human Development Report, 2014). Of these, Sierra Leone presents the most dramatic case of development failure, given its richness in marine resources, tourist attractions, fertile agricultural land, and natural resources.
The country has reported a slow annual growth rate averaging 6.8%, a mere shadow of its growth rate in the late 1980s prior to the outbreak of the 1991 civil war, which lasted for just over a decade. The country is still in the process of recovery, yet for a nation with its level of resource endowment, the poverty situation is devastating: approximately 70% of the population lives on less than one dollar a day, and with a Gini coefficient of 0.63, Sierra Leone stands as one of the most unequal economies in the world in terms of income distribution (Philpott and Powers, 2010). The proposed study examines how microfinance could be used to improve the country's post-war poverty situation.
Policymakers in Sierra Leone have initiated various strategies aimed at addressing the exceedingly high rates of poverty among the populace. Most of these are covered under the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (I-PRSP), adopted by the World Bank and the IMF in 2001, in which the government outlines its pro-poor poverty-reduction plan. What is worrying, however, is that almost a decade and a half after the adoption of the I-PRSP, the majority of the population — particularly in rural areas — still lives in abject poverty. The IMF attributes this failure to misguided policy and inefficient intervention by the central government. This may be partly because policymakers lack effective sources from which to draw insight: very few studies have been conducted on the poverty situation in Sierra Leone, and even fewer have focused specifically on how microfinance programs could be used to address it. Despite Africa having the highest poverty rates in the world, most existing studies have concentrated on war-torn countries in Asia and Latin America.
References
Ahmeti, F., 2014. Microfinance as a Tool for Economic Development in Transitional Countries: Experience from Kosovo. The European Scientific Journal, 10(4): 269–287.
Durrani, M.K., Usman, A., Malik, M.I., and Ahmad, S., 2011. Role of Microfinance in Reducing Poverty: A Look at Social and Economic Factors. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(21): 138–144.
Gratton, C. and Jones, I., 2010. Research Methods for Sports Studies. Oxon: Routledge.
IMF, 2005. Sierra Leone: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. The IMF. Accessed April 9, 2015. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2005/cr05191.pdf
Mazumder, M.S. and Wencong, L., 2013. Microcredit and Poverty Reduction: A Case of Bangladesh. Prague Economic Papers, 3(1): 403–417.
National Commission for Social Action, 2008. Study of Microfinance Sector Capacity-Building in Sierra Leone. The National Commission for Social Action 2008 Report. Accessed April 13, 2015. http://acpbusinessclimate.org/pseef/documents/final/sierra_leone_policy_en.pdf
USAID, 2009. Sierra Leone: Economic Recovery Assessment. USAID. Accessed April 14, 2015. https://egateg.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/Sierra_Leone_Economic_Recovery_Assessment.pdf
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