Contribution of Co-operative Societies to Women Traders’ Financial Inclusion in South East, Nigeria

This study evaluated to the contribution of co-operative societies to women traders’ financial inclusion in south East, Nigeria.  Specifically, it determined the extent to which co-operative societies enhance women traders’ access to credit facilities and to assessed the extent to which co-operative societies promote savings mobilization among women traders in Aba main market. A descriptive survey design was adopted, involving 278 registered women members of market traders’ association of Aba Main Market, sampled through simple random sampling. Data were collected using a well-validated questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.85 through Cronbach’s Alpha. SPSS 27 facilitated descriptive analysis using frequency, percentage and mean, while chi-square statistic (χ2) determined variable significance. Results showed that co-operative societies had significant positive influence in enhancing women traders’ access to credit facilities [x^2 (16,N=256)=27.339,p<0.05] and promoting savings mobilization among women traders in South East, Nigeria [x^2 (16,N=256)=26.581,p<0.05]. It concluded that co-operative societies play a vital role in improving women traders’ access to credit and fostering a consistent saving culture in South East, Nigeria. These organizations have strengthened women’s financial stability and expanded their business opportunities. The study recommended that co-operative societies should simplify loan access to better support women entrepreneurs through clear policies and training that ensure transparent, trust-based credit administration and that women traders should be encouraged to maintain consistent savings via co-operative schemes supported by financial literacy and digital saving platforms.