Abstract

This study seeks to highlight the challenges faced by organisations whose remit it is to
provide microfinance support to the poor. In doing so, it focuses on loan officers – the agents
of delivery on the ground. Based on an intersectional analysis of gender, class and context,
the research shows how these interact to influence loan officers’ day by day experiences and
make the job unattractive to particular groups. It is set in the context of two Zambian
microfinance institutions seeking to reduce poverty through sustainable lending, using a
group-based methodology. The study draws out the dirty, emotional, stressful, gendered,
culturally complex and relentless nature of their work on the ground, to argue for a better
understanding of grassroots level work and support for loan officers. More specifically,
findings show that gender appears to be important as social and cultural norms emerge as
major pressure points to female loan officers than their male counterparts- making them less
suitable for microfinance work, which traditionally targeted poor women.