The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan

Studies Management and Finance Economics, of Journal 0504-2644 (online): ISSN 0490,-2644 (print): ISSN 5202 November 11 Issue 80 Volume 8.317 Factor: Impact ,22-i11-10.47191/jefms/v8 DOI: Article 7342-7327 No: Page JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7327 The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan Mohammed zain Ahmed1, Mohammed Norain2 1,2 Associate Professor of Economics – Faculty of Economics – Alzaeem Alazhari University – Sudan. ABSTRACT: The study dealt with the economic and social effects of the microfinance experience in Sudan. The problem of the study was the weakness of the culture of microfinance in Sudan, which led to a lack of expansion in funding sources and precautions against payment guarantees, which constituted an obstacle for banks, in addition to the lack of financing volume, which deprived many of the poor from obtaining sufficient financing. The importance of the study stemmed from the urgent need for microfinance in order to stimulate production and generate income to meet the growing needs of living. The study aimed to identify the experience of microfinance in Sudan, to show the economic and social effects, and to reach methods that reduce the failures of the experiment. The study followed the descriptive analytical approach, the inductive approach, and the statistical approach. The study came out with a number of results, the most important of which are: The number of beneficiaries is constantly increasing, and the volumes and percentages of financing increase year after year depending on the number of beneficiaries. This indicates that microfinance led to employment and the provision of self-employment opportunities and contributed to the provision of many services such as housing (popular and economical housing), transportation (financing of rickshaws, tuk-tuk, taxis and glory) and education (financing tuition fees). Many financiers acquired the banking culture, and this in itself is a quantum leap to increase the awareness of the weak segments of some economic concepts such as finance, savings and investment. The statistics and data contained in this study confirm that the economically weak segments do not need large amounts of money to finance their projects. The study made a number of recommendations, the most important of which are: the need for geographical expansion and spread of microfinance institutions to reach the largest number of the poor, especially in the states and their remote areas. The trend is to focus on crowdfunding by expanding small productive projects. KEYWORDS: Microfinance, Small enterprises, Microfinance Institutions, Poverty alleviation, Productive families . 1 . INTRODUCTION Microfinance is an effective tool for poverty reduction, especially with the increasing number of poor people who lack the collateral to access traditional bank financing, which often has high interest rates. There are many international experiences in the field of microfinance for the poor through their ownership of small projects. Examples of these experiences include: the experience of Japan, Canada, Singapore, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and others, and they can be benefited from. Sudan has benefited from them, especially the experience of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. This study attempts to shed light on the microfinance experience in Sudan by identifying both the economic and social impacts through tracing that experience, presenting and analyzing the size and proportions of banking and non-banking microfinance, and monitoring the number of poor people financed and owning the means and tools to produce and operate small projects that would alleviate their poverty and deprivation. The study problem: The study problem lies in the fact that the microfinance experience in Sudan is relatively new and is faced with many obstacles and problems, especially the lack of financial savings, the increase in the number of poor people, the shortcomings in the philosophy and application of the microfinance experience, and the difficulty in paying the dues within the specified repayment period. Importance of the study: The importance of the study stems from the fact that it represents the most important type of studies that investigate how to finance the economically weak segments for employment and earning income that reduces poverty rates in Sudan. The results and recommendations of this study also benefit researchers, academics and decision makers. The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7328 Study objectives: - To explore the microfinance experience in Sudan. - To identify the problems and obstacles facing the microfinance experience in Sudan. - To identify the volumes and sources of microfinance. - To highlight the economic and social impacts of microfinance in Sudan. - To seek ways and means to overcome the obstacles facing the experience. Study Hypotheses: - There is a statistically significant direct relationship between small business financing and improving the standard of living of the targeted poor. - There is a statistically significant direct relationship between small business financing and increasing the income level of business owners. - There is no statistically significant relationship between small business financing and increasing small business profits. Study methodology: The study follows the descriptive, analytical, inductive and statistical methods. Study methodology: The study follows the descriptive, analytical, inductive and statistical methods. 2 . PREVIOUS STUDIES 2.1. Hala H. ElHadidi , (June 2020 ): Microfinance became a critical aspect in the creditmarkets as an effective tool for poverty reduction and socioeconomic-development. Yet, the impact still questioned and varies from one country to another and from urban to rural areas. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of Egyptian microfinance on household income. A cross-sectional survey interviewed 780 from old and new clients in Greater Cairo and rural areas in Egypt. The stratified random method was used to collect the data from urban and rural districts. The finding of multinomial logistic reveals that Microfinance has positive impact on household income of women borrowers who spent three years in the scheme as compared to new borrowers who have not received treatment. Keywords: Egyptian, Microfinance, Poverty Reduction, income. 2.2.Debidutta pattnaik. M, Kabir Hassan(2024): Microfinance has gained significant attention as a social innovation, offering flexible and low-cost financial services to households who are otherwise excluded from formal financial services. Over the years, numerous research works have expanded the knowledge base of microfinance. Applying bibliometrics, we summarise findings from 1599 articles published between 1987 and 2022. Our performance analysis reveals insights into the research trend, including its geographical distribution, the theories under examination, and the most influential publications. More importantly, the knowledge foundation and thematic analysis categorize microfinance research into three broad themes, viz. impact of microfinance, management of microfinance and performance and efficiency of microfinance. Furthermore, we trace the evolution of various research topics and forecast future trends using periodical average publication years over time. This study, therefore, serves as a valuable reference in microfinance research both for new researchers and seasoned academics, as well as policymakers, providing insights into research trends, seminal works, and future directions. 2.3.Hellyon N.R.chalid , ( 2022): Microfinance institutions are challenged by changes in competition, which impact them in various ways. Competition among microfinance institutions is unique because service to the poor, rather than profit alone, is their primary goal. Scientific research on microfinance institutions has increased dramatically over the last two decades. However, previous research lacked a systematic approach in reviewing the literature on the impact of competition in microfinance institutions. This study bridges this gap by reviewing 67 journal articles regarding competition among microfinance institutions. It outlines existing research topics related to the impact of competition on microfinance institutions and offers recommendations for future research. We referred to the RepOrting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses review protocol to conduct a systematic literature review. We also conducted a bibliometric analysis for thematic observations. The results revealed the following four clusters on the impact of competition: social impact, performance, market structure, and relationships with other financial institutions. In conclusion, competition will positively impact microfinance institutions if they accept its inevitability and strive to adapt. Moreover, this study suggests a direction for subsequent research on policies. 2.4. Kashif, B. Syed Noorul Shajar ( 2025) :The tremendous increase in publications in Microfinance since 2000 has highlighted need for and importance of innovative techniques to present big data in this field in a most informative, scientific, and summarized manner. The study highlights the trends and patterns of Microfinance literature by revealing what has been done and what could be done in future. The study comprises of 1429 microfinance publications extracted from the Scopus database. The authors adopt bibliometric analysis through open software application R and network analysis techniques using Gephi AND VOS viewer software. The study adds a valuable contribution to the field of Microfinance by distinctively summarizing the important literature. It The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7329 identifies global academic research trends and provides insights about trending topics, highly cited literature, authors, countries, collaboration network, word cloud, citation analysis, etc. Finally based on extensive literature survey through bibliometric analysis. The study highlights about the scope of future research in Microfinance. 2.5. Phan Thi Thanh Huong ( 2021 ) : This thesis investigates several topics in microfinance in South and East Asia. The appearance of microfinance has been known as a solution to alleviate poverty in rural area. Millions of poor families in developing countries have accessed to formal financial services through microfinance programs. However, many households still face major constraints in their credit access due to many reasons, such as short of collaterals or unable to access formal finance specifically in the South and East Asia where the region remains home to almost half of the world’s poorest individuals. 3 . LITERATURE REVIW The concept and importance of microfinance: The concept of microfinance is that it is a type of low-volume and low-quantity financing, i.e. it provides small loans to the poor with the aim of helping them start productive activities or develop their existing small projects. Therefore, it is a package of financial services that enable low-income and working people to earn an income that improves their living conditions. It is also known as a financial or in-kind facility provided to the poor and economically active (Hamid, Saleh Jibril 2010 ) , Social Innovation and Microfinancing Jim Phills (2009) defines social innovation as ‘any novel and useful solution to a social need or problem, that is better than existing approaches (i.e., more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just) and for which the value created (benefits) accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals’. In other words, all ‘innovative activities and services that are motivated by the goal of meeting a social need and that are predominantly diffused through organizations (Khandker, R.,1998) governmental and popular institutions have begun to show interest in supporting and encouraging small businesses and projects by establishing units for productive families. There has been a popular and official awareness at the national level and a global interest in the necessity of introducing fundamental changes to economic and social development plans, setting policies and innovating methods to develop these projects and thus raise the standard of living of these vulnerable groups. The idea of microfinance: The idea of microfinance came as an initiative of the American International Development Corporation, where the World Microfinance Conference was held in Washington in 1996, with the attendance of about 17 countries interested in this field. The main goal of this conference was to alleviate poverty by adopting methods to integrate the poor into economic activity. This conference resulted in four methods for managing and practicing microfinance, which are:- The first method: Microfinance is provided through small units that are independent with their own policies, employees, and information system, but are administratively, financially, and technically affiliated with a specific bank. The second method: Microfinance is provided to small producers through organizations that act as financial intermediaries and have financial institutions affiliated with them. The third method: Financing is done directly through small, semi-independent financial units through a specialized window in a bank branch staffed with financing employees. The fourth method: Microfinance is carried out through an integrated financing system in a banking institution and is managed by employees specialised in microfinance operations. By Looking at these methods, we find that Sudan has implemented the first method due to its advantages, ease, and centrality. By following the microfinance experience in Sudan, we find that it is expanding year after year as difficulties are overcome and problems facing it are resolved, especially the problem of stumbling and weak guarantees ( Alteb, Abdallmuneem Mohmed , 2011( ،The Grameen Bank experiment in Bangladesh, founded by Muhammad Yunus, is one of the pioneering experiments in the field of microfinance to combat poverty, based on the premise that “poverty is a problem that can be solved, and the person who has nothing has priority in obtaining a loan.” Based on this premise, Muhammad Yunus established Grameen Bank in 1983, with the aim of economically empowering the poor and helping them improve their living conditions by providing small loans to the needy without the need for collateral. Based on this, loans worth approximately 310.20 billion taka were granted, and the number of beneficiaries reached more than 8 million poor people in Bangladesh, and poverty rates began to decrease with 5% of the poor moving out annually ( Boubrima, Razika Arab and Aisha, 2013 ),Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in sub-Saharan Africa include a broad range of diverse and geographically dispersed institutions that offer financial services to low-income clients: nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), non-bank financial institutions, cooperatives, rural banks, savings and postal financial institutions, and an increasing number of commercial banks ( Patricia Mwangi, and Matthew Brown, 2005) , Microfinance experience in Sudan: The idea and philosophy of microfinance emerged in Sudan since the beginning of the nineties, when the Central Bank of Sudan adopted the method of microfinance for the economically weak segments with limited income The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7330 to finance small and medium projects, and it was placed in the form of different names such as productive families, small producers, professionals and craftsmen (Ibrahim, Badr El-Din Abdel Rahim, 2012) 5. Objectives, characteristics and advantages of microfinance in Sudan: First: Microfinance objectives : 1. Target more poor people and create more job opportunities to eradicate poverty and hunger. 2. Reduce the risk of over-indebtedness. 3. Establish permanent local financial institutions. 4. Providing the rural poor with the money, financing and financial services they need to increase their earnings and build a more prosperous future. Second: Advantages of microfinance: 1. It contributes to providing capital to small producers. 2. It provides a variety of financial services to the poor and low-income individuals excluded from formal financial systems. 3. It empowers the poor to increase their household income, achieve economic security, and reduce their financial vulnerability through small projects. Microfinance institutions display: These entities can be divided into banking and non-banking institutions, as the number of banking institutions that provide microfinance reached approximately 22 banks, led by the Social Development Savings Bank, the Family Bank, and the Creativity Bank for Microfinance. As for the non-banking institutions, their number reached approximately 13 institutions, which are: National Microfinance Corporation Khartoum Branch, Social Development Corporation Khartoum Branch, Social Development Corporation Kassala Branch, Khartoum Agricultural Microfinance Corporation, Sudanese Microfinance Company, Al-Manal Microfinance Company, Awan Microfinance and Development Company Limited, Al Jazeera Microfinance Foundation, Baraa Microfinance Foundation in South Kordofan State, Youth Microfinance Foundation in Khartoum State, Al Maasheen Microfinance Foundation, Small Craft Business Development Association in Red Sea State, Al Amal Microfinance Foundation. There are praises for the microfinance experience applied in Sudan at the local and international levels. At the local level, many conferences, workshops, seminars and official meetings were held, most of which presented studies and research that praised the success of the microfinance experience despite the obstacles and challenges that the experience faced. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) also praised, in one of its memoranda No. (84), that microfinance in Sudan is growing at an accelerated pace to help the poor (Ibrahim, Badr El-Din Abdel Rahim, 2015 ). Target groups in microfinance: All economically active segments of society capable of working and producing income, including: professionals, craftsmen, small producers, fishermen, shepherds, farmers, productive families and small business owners, students and university graduates, pensioners, and women ( Central bank of Sudan , Publications , 2012 ). Microfinance size: According to statistics and data from the Microfinance Unit of the Bank of Sudan, the number of people who were granted smaller amounts of financing was no less than 14 million individuals over five years from 2011 to 2015 (Cental Bank of Sudan , Microfinance Unit. www.mfu.gov.sd ),This is a valuable contribution from microfinance institutions despite the obstacles and challenges they face. The amount of microfinance was about 10 thousand Sudanese pounds, and when inflation rates and the exchange rate rose, the ceiling for microfinance rose to 50 thousand( Central Bank of Sudan , Circular No. (2/2025), 2025). However, this amount is not sufficient due to the rise in the prices of production inputs due to the rise in the exchange rate, which in turn led to a rise in inflation rates. It is known that high inflation rates lead to an increase in the rate of borrowing on financing (interest rate). This may lead to a reduction in demand for microfinance funds , Despite this, the number of microfinance institutions has continued to increase year after year, as shown in the following table: Table ( 1 ) : Number of federal and state microfinance: years/ Side 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Fedral 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 states 1 2 4 6 8 18 21 25 26 26 The Total 3 4 7 9 12 23 27 31 33 33 Source : Central Bank of Sudan , Microfinance Unit 2011. The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7331 Graphical Figure No ( 1 ) Number of Microfinance Foundations Fedral and States in Sudan Source : From data in Table ( 1 ) . It is noted from the table and the graph that there is a clear increase in the number of microfinance institutions at the federal and state levels. While microfinance institutions started with about 3 institutions in 2008 AD, they increased to 4 in 2009 AD. Then it continued to increase until it reached 33 institutions in 2015 AD. Due to the increase in the number of microfinance institutions, the proportions and volume of microfinance increased accordingly, as shown in the following table: Table No ( 2 ) : the valume of microfinance and social dimension from the bank portfio ( 2011 – 2017 AD ) ( in million Sudanese pounds ) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 Years/ side 3,210 2,830 2,692 2,187 1,692 1,302 938 Micro Finance 6,123 5,900 5,601 2,037 1,712 1,711 964 Socially oriented finance 9,333 8,730 8,293 4,224 3,404 3,013 1,902 The Total Source : Bank of Sudan , Microfinance Unit. Graphical Figure No ( 2 ) Source : From data in Table ( 2 ) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 20082009201020112012201320142015 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 Development of Microfinance and social finance in sudan(20112017) ( in millions SDG) Micro Finance Socially oriented finance The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7332 Table No ( 3 ) : Microfinance Coverage in Sudan by geographical area. Geographic area Population in millions Number of Poor Peaple in Sudan Number of microfinance beneficiaries in thousand peaple Darfur States 7.514 4.711 88.886 Kordofan States 4.327 2.540 37.352 Central States 7.422 3.369 26.527 Eastern States 4.533 2.099 31.328 Northern States 1.819 613 7.759 Khartoum State 5.274 1.371 12.813 Source: PACT Foundation, MICROFINANCE Map of Sudan , 2012. Graphical Figure No ( 3 Source : From data in Table ( 3 ) From the table and figure above, we find that the number of microfinance beneficiaries per thousand people varies from one geographical area to another, and this is attributed to the variation in living standards and the surrounding environment. Table No ( 4 ) : performance of Sudanese banks in microfinance The bank Potiflio Size Planned amounts Port Port ratio of the scheme Savings and Social Development 252.005 252.005 230.175 91.30 % Faisal Al-Islami 601.215 72.146 278.207 385.60 % Expor Development 2.766.373 331.965 522.240 157.30 % National Workers 470.175 56.421 69.931 123.90 % Agricultual 300.500 36.060 39.081 108.40 % Algezera 1.681.597 201.792 213.959 106.00 % Sudanese Islamic 90.511 10.861 5.749 52.90 % Real estate 578.777 69.453 36.693 52.80 % Commercial farmer 244.181 29.302 14.725 50.30 % livestock 974.354 116.923 55.949 47.90 Sudanese blessing 394.083 47.290 20.960 44.30 % Islamic Solidarity 537.662 64.519 25.549 39.60 % The Islamic North 1.658.569 199.028 75.094 37.70 % Oumdurman National 586.429 70.372 17.761 25.20 % Saudi Sudanese 5.098.462 611.815 126.405 2.50 % 0 200 400 600 800 0 2 4 6 8 Darfur States Kordofan States Central States Eastern States Northern States Khartoum State Microfinance Coverage in Sudan Geograghical Areas Population in millions Number of Poor People in Sudan Number of microfinance beneficiaries in thousand peaple The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7333 Industrial development 509.771 61.173 12.130 19.80 % Khartoum 559.699 67.164 11.938 17.80 % Cooperative development 4.310.854 517.302 67.452 13.00 % French Sudanese 872.293 104.675 10.617 10.10 % Nilein 809.293 97.115 9.897 10.20 % Savings and Social Development 895.538 107.465 8.323 7.70 % Source: PACT Foundation, MICROFINANCE Map of Sudan , 2012. The previous table confirms that there is a variation in the size and percentages of microfinance implemented through the banks mentioned in the table, and a close examination of the data reveals that the highest percentage implemented of the planned amount, about 385.60%, was granted by the Savings and Social Development Bank, which indicates that it is the leading bank and the first to grant microfinance. However, there are estimated percentages from all the mentioned banks. Table No( 5): performance of Non – bank microfinance institutions (per thousand people) Foundation Number of beneficiaries Number of Savers Number of borrowers Potiflio Size Algazeera Foundation 2015 1872 2015 7.000.000.00 Specific methal company 237 75 237 2.000.000.00 Northern Microfinance Foundation 3573 zero 900 6.665.000.00 Port Sudan Small Business Organization 43835 zero 5226 4.224.971.00 Social Development Foundation in Khartoum State 75166 23999 26512 50.647.23.00 Sudanese Rural Development Company 650 zero 500 3.000.000.00 Youth Microfinance Foundation 1519 1519 1519 3.365.481.00 Social Development Foundation in Kassala State 8348 6256 6256 10.624.003.00 Source: PACT Foindation,Microfinance Map of Sudan,2012. From the data in the table above, it is clear that the number of beneficiaries varies from one financing institution to another. The Social Development Foundation in Khartoum State is considered to have provided microfinance with the largest number of beneficiaries, amounting to 75,166. Table No(6) Performace of some civil society organizations in microfinance Source: PACT Foindation,Microfinance Map of Sudan,2012 Table No ( 7 ): the Number of beneficiaries of bank microfinance (in thousand people) Bank Number of beneficiaries Bank Number of beneficiaries Family 104035 Sudanese blessing 175 Savings and Social Development 110048 Islamic Solidarity 5078 Fisal Al-slami 150 The Islamic North 1232 Exports Development 4212 Oumdurman National 24679 side Number of beneficiaries Number of Savers General Union of Sudanese Women 6971 890 International Agency for Research and Development 2000 700 Sudanese Youth unit 1300 zero Practical Action 250 zero south Darfur Farmers union 30000 zero Initiative and Development Foundation 565 zero The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7334 National Workers 2309 Saudi Sudanese 22 Agriculural 6985 Industrial development 222827 Algazeera 2470 Khartoum 19163 Sudanese Islamic 500 Cooperative development 1224 Real estate 225 French Sudanese 40 Commercial farmer 23969 Nilein 892 Livestok 3330 Source : Central Bank of Sudan , Microfinance union. From Table No. (7) the Industrial Development Bank has granted the largest number of beneficiaries, amounting to 222,827 individuals, followed by the Savings Bank, about 110,048, followed by the Family, 104,035. This is due to the interest of these two banks in the issue of microfinance as a social responsibility. As for the banks that provide the least microfinance, they are the Saudi Bank, which granted about 22 individuals, and the French Bank, about 40 individuals, Microfinance to transform the Central Bank of Sudan's strategy into a comprehensive national microfinance strategy that includes all partners, affirming the nationalism and the outside world by spreading the principles of the experience on In addition to turning to comprehensiveness of the experience. a regional and global scale through contributions to publications, participation in forums, field visits, and receiving foreign delegations from Islamic and non-Islamic countries to learn about the characteristics and features of the Sudanese experience in Islamic microfinance. . Microfinance ceiling: 1. The microfinance ceiling for the agricultural sector, both plant and animal, is EGP 8,000,000 (only eight million pounds). 2. The microfinance ceiling for the industrial sector is EGP 6,000,000 (only six million pounds). 3. The microfinance ceiling for both the craft and service sectors is EGP 4,000,000 (only four million pounds). 4. The microfinance ceiling for other sectors (commercial, productive families, etc.) is EGP 2,000,000 (only two million pounds). 5. The ceiling for microfinance for solar energy systems is 10,000,000 pounds (only ten million pounds) . 4. METHODOLOGY - DATASET,ANDANALYSIS In this part abrief description of the Methodology used in the research study is made and the dataset and analysisphases areintroduced in compliance with the study objective . 4. 1 . METHDOLOGY Population and sample of Study: The study population consists of small business owners who have obtained microfinance and are listed in the records of banks, financial institutions, and microfinance institutions, the number of which is (7654). The sample method was used in accordance with the nature and type of the study, and it was chosen according to Richard Geiger's equation: ( ) ( )        −       +        = 150.0 1 1 50.0 2 2 2 2 d z N d z n =466 Where : N is Represents the study community. Z is Represents The standard score corresponding to the significance level of 0.95 is equal to 1.96 D is Represents The error rate is 0.05. Therefore, the study sample size is 466 individuals Internal consistency validity. The internal consistency validity of the questionnaire was verified by calculating the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient for each item of the questionnaire and the overall average of the axis to which it belongs, using the statistical program (spss). The following tables illustrate this. Statistical methods and processing used in the study: By unpacking and analyzing the questionnaire using the statistical program (SPSS), and using Spearman’s correlation coefficient to find the internal consistency validity of the questionnaire, and Cronbach’s alpha correlation coefficient to find the validity and reliability coefficient. The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7335 Obtaining frequencies, arithmetic means, standard deviations, percentages, cumulative ratios, and graphic forms. The Likert scale was used to determine the direction of the respondents' opinions, and the chi-square test was used to test the hypotheses. 4. 2 . Preentation of results , analysis and discussion irst: Analysis of personal data:F 1Gender: The distribution of the respondents according to gender was as shown in the table below. Table No. (11): Distribution of respondents according to gender Statement Repetition Percentage Cumulative ratio Female 124 32% 32.4 Male 259 68% 100% Total 383 100% Source: Field study results. 2Age group: When the respondents were asked about their age, they were given five possible answers to choose from, and their choices of answers were as shown in the table below. Table No. (12): Distribution of respondents according to age groups: Age group Repetition Percentage Cumulative ratio More than 60 years 4 1 % 1.0 51 – 60 years 23 6 % 7.0 41 – 50 years 98 26% 32.6 30 – 40 years 185 48% 80.9 Less than 30 years 60 16% 96.6 didn't answer 13 3% 100% Total 383 100% Source: Field study results 3Social status: The respondents were asked about their social status. They were given five possible answers to choose from, and their choices were as shown in the table below: Table No. (13): Distribution of respondents according to social status marital status Repetition Percentage Cumulative ratio A widower 10 3% 2.6 Divorce 16 4% 6.8 bachelor 102 27% 33.4 married 249 65% 98.4 didn't answer 6 1% 100% Total 383 100% Source: Field study results. 4Number of family members: To determine the number of family members, they gave three possible answers to choose from. Their choices for the answers were as shown below: The Economic and Social Impacts of the Microfinance Experience in Sudan JEFMS, Volume 08 Issue 11 November 2025 www.ijefm.co.in Page 7342 7) Hala H. El Hadidi , ( June 2020 ), “ The Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Reduction in Egypt: An Empirical Study “ , Arab Journal of Administration, Vol. 40, No. 2, 8) Department of Business Administration , . The British University , Egypt . 9) Hellyon N.R.chalid , ( 2022), “ Impact of competition on microfinance institutions : bibliometricanalysis and systematic literature review. 10) Kashif Beg a, B Padmapriya b, Syed Noorul Shajar c, Md Moneef Ahmad d, Abdul Ghani Faiyyaz e ( 2025) Mar 26;11(9):e43264 “ The bibliometric analysis of previous twentyfive years literature: A microfinance review” , “ PMC Retraction Policy Heliyon log PMCID: PMC10838773 PMID: 38317945. 11) Khandker, R. (1998). Fighting poverty with micro credit. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.. 12) Microfinance Unit Reports – Central of Sudan , Publications ( 2007 – 2012 ) . 13) Overview of the Outreach and Financial Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Africa Anne-Lucie Lafourcade, Jennifer Isern, Patricia Mwangi, and Matthew Brown ∗ April 2005. 14) Phan Thi Thanh Huong ( 2021 ) “Performance of microfinance institutions and their accessibility in South and East Asia “ , university of Montpellier , umr Moisa . 15) Razika Arab and Aisha Boubrima, “Islamic Microfinance as a Mechanism to Combat Poverty – The Experience of Grameen Bank – Bangladesh as a Model”, Algerian Journal of Financial and Banking Studies, Volume 3, Issue 1, Pages 66-85, 12/31/2013. 16) Saleh Jibril Hamid, “Microfinance in Sudan – Concept – Models – Applications”, Part One, 2010 AD.