The theory on microfinance reveals that continued access to credit and the process of\r\nincreased investment increases income further thereby enabling the borrower to gradually\r\nclimb out of poverty. In consonance with this, the main objective of this study was to verify if\r\nmultiple loans from microfinance institutions help the rural poor women in the Upper East\r\nRegion of Ghana to reduce household poverty, using treatment effect method of estimation.\r\nIn pursuance of this, data was collected from 500 women engaged in agro-processing of\r\nwhom 250 were beneficiaries of multiple loans and 250 non-beneficiaries.\r\nThe results showed that respondents from the Bawku West district were less likely to receive\r\nmultiple loans than their counterparts from the Bongo, Builsa and Talensi-Nabdan districts.\r\nAlso respondents with post secondary education were less likely to receive multiple loans\r\nthan those with no formal education. Again, respondents who received loans at least three and\r\nfour times, had higher weekly consumption expenditure on basic needs than those who\r\nreceived loans at most two and three times respectively. The results further showed spatial\r\ndifferences in consumption expenditures with Kasena Nankana and Bawku West districts\r\nspending more on basic needs per week than respondents from Bongo, Talensi-Nabdan and\r\nthe Builsa districts. An increase in the number of dependents also increases weekly\r\nconsumption expenditure.\r\nBy implication, multiple loans from microfinance institutions contribute positively to\r\nreducing household poverty among rural women engaged in agro-processing in the Upper\r\nEast Region.\r\nIn the light of this, it is recommended that microfinance institutions should lend out to clients\r\nas many times as possible in the Upper East Region as long as these clients are able to repay\r\nsince it has a positive impact on poverty reduction.\r\nJEL Classification: C1, D13, D14, G21
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