This article attempts to lay out the broad discursive space connecting the triad of microfinance, poverty and empowerment. Linking the neoliberal construction of individual agency with the construction of the role of ‘third world’ women in development, it critiques microfinance for a false promise of liberation which is predicated upon a reductionist approach to both poverty and patriarchy. The article argues that microfinance can at best become a coping strategy for poor people, with the onus of survival falling disproportionately on women without necessarily benefiting them in terms of rights and entitlements. However, with insights from primary observations, the article shows that it is possible for organisations to use microfinance as a tool to connect women to larger collectives and processes that are empowering. Such organisational initiatives require the right perspectives rather than huge funds. Thus, subversion of the neoliberal agenda can happen when microfinance is shorn of its larger than life image and used as a strategy in specific contexts.
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