COOPERATIVE INVESTMENT AND CREDIT SOCIETIES (CICS) AND MEMBERS SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: THE LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Accessibility to microcredit is one of the very important factors in the process of livelihood; access to credit plays a prominent role in livelihood particularly among the rural poor and cooperative members. The study examined effect of microcredit on livelihood of members of cooperative investment and credit societies limited, in Oyo state, Nigeria. Specifically, ascertain the influence of the socio-economic characteristics of CICS members on their livelihood. Primary and secondary data were used for the research, four hundred (400) respondents were used for the study; both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the research. The results showed that significant relationship existed between age, gender, education, membership to a cooperative society, annual saving and asset after joining cooperative with their livelihood. We recommend that to enhance members’ livelihood, the cooperative societies should improve on members’ education and also encourage more youth’s participations.