To read this content please select one of the options below:

(excl. tax) 30 days to view and download

Reinvigorating the future of young women micro entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19: a SEM reflective model approach with debt literacy as the mediator

George Okello Candiya Bongomin, Frederick Semukono, Pierre Yourougou, Rebecca Balinda

American Journal of Business

ISSN: 1935-519X

Article publication date: 7 January 2025

37

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test for the mediating effect of debt literacy in the relationship between microcredit access and the survival of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owned and operated by young women in rural sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a five-point Likert scale questionnaire to collect data from young women entrepreneurs with MSMEs located in rural northern Uganda. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS with bootstrapping are used to test the magnitude and level of the mediation effect as recommended by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Hair et al. (2022).

Findings

The results reveal that debt literacy increases the impact of microcredit on the survival of young women entrepreneurs with MSMEs in rural sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19 based on data collected from rural northern Uganda.

Research limitations/implications

A questionnaire was used to collect data for this study. Future studies could collect data using interviews and the experimental research design to evaluate the effect of debt literacy over time.

Practical implications

This study provides valuable insights on the importance of debt literacy in microcredit access and the survival of MSMEs. The results of this study can be used to inform policy and guide practitioners on how to integrate debt literacy into the national educational and literacy curriculum.

Originality/value

This study brings into the limelight the important role of debt literacy in helping young women microentrepreneurs learn to be more cautious when taking on future debts and helping them become more resilient in the post COVID-19 pandemic situation. This topic of debt literacy is limited in the microcredit literature and the theory of microfinance in rural Uganda post COVID-19.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their exceptional and constructive comments and the editors for the attention and feedback given to this manuscript, which has helped to significantly improve it to a publishable standard. The authors further extend gratitude to Ruth Engler from PaperLift, Canada, for copy editing this manuscript for it to qualify to be published in this journal. The corresponding author also acknowledges great support from Professor Issouf Soumare and the excellent academic environment at the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at FSA, Laval University, Quebec City.

Funding: The authors declare that no funds, grants or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author contributions: All efforts of the authors who contributed to this manuscript, especially the corresponding author, are greatly acknowledged. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Citation

Okello Candiya Bongomin, G., Semukono, F., Yourougou, P. and Balinda, R. (2025), "Reinvigorating the future of young women micro entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19: a SEM reflective model approach with debt literacy as the mediator", American Journal of Business, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJB-11-2023-0197

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles