The Effect Of Economic Empowerment On Cooperative Members Satisfaction: The Case Of Handura Oromia Shaggar City Employees Saving And Credit Cooperative, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) have been recognized as important economic institutions that play a significant role in economic empowerment and poverty alleviation globally. The study aimed at to assess the effect of economic empowerment on members of saving and Credit Cooperatives in the study area. Explanatory sequential mixed research design was used to achieve the stated objectives with simple sampling methods that employed to recruit a total of 240 participants. Primary data was collected using survey questionnaires and interviews method. From a total of 240 distributed questionnaires 236 of them were returned back with 98% of rating scale whereas 20 key informants were selected for interview schedules. The study found that a significant proportion of respondents perceived a high level of economic empowerment, particularly in access to financial resources, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship support, and financial literacy programs. Moreover, across various socioeconomic variables such as poverty reduction, gender equality, health and wellbeing, community development, empowerment, reduced inequality, social cohesion, political participation, and education, there is a strong consensus among respondents regarding the positive impact of economic empowerment which implies that the majority of respondents agree on the positive effects across these variables, indicating tangible socio-economic benefits associated with SACCOs' economic empowerment initiatives. The result of linear regression illustrated that, 53.8% of the variance in overall economic wellbeing of members of saving and credit cooperatives was attributed to the overall economic empowerment, and the remaining 46.2% of variation in the overall economic wellbeing of members of saving and credit cooperatives can be explained by other variables not considered in this study. The regression analysis indicates that economic empowerment is a significant and strong predictor of economic wellbeing among saving and credit cooperative members (beta=.663, p<.001). Based on these findings, the SACCOs should implement continuous assessment and tailored interventions, enhance financial literacy, entrepreneurship support, economic empowerment, inclusive growth, collaborative partnerships, and expand financial services, while promoting member participation and continuous monitoring.