**6.4 Role of microcredit in achieving SDGs**

Microcredit plays a vital role in achieving many sustainable development goals (SDGs) directly or indirectly. **Figure 2** describes the possible role and functions of microcredit for achieving the SDGs. The possible direct impact of microcredit on achieving the 1st SDG called "No poverty" has been extensively addressed in the literature. Microcredit is provided to the poor people who live on \$1.25 or \$2.00 per day. Poor families through microcredit can reduce the poverty, and ensure smooth consumption [54]. Malnutrition is also a very serious problem worldwide. To overcome this global problem, many studies have described the link between microcredit participation and the nutrition status of participants. Hamad and Fernald [55] reported the positive effect of microcredit on nutritional status and the food security *Role of Microcredit in Sustainable Rural Development DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102588*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Role and functions of microcredit to achieve SDGs.*

of the participants. Similarly, the socioeconomic and health association has been widely unearthed. The poor people and those having low socio-economic status experience poor health. Microcredit provides the financial resources to the poor people to establish their small businesses, generate their income, and approach their self-sufficiency. In this way, the income and health link are widely acknowledged worldwide [56]. Poverty and health inequalities are indistinguishably linked, and microcredit is the option that can focus on multiple factors like no poverty, good health, low hunger, and better education, etc. Amin et al. [57] described that the poor families who joined the microcredit program tend to have better access to insurance. The 4th SDG "Education" is also approachable by the participation in microcredit programs. The poor families in the rural area mostly remain busy in farming and they keep their children working at the farm to stabilize their financial position. Consequently, their children remain absent from school. Microcredit helps them to stabilize their financial condition, and their children are more likely to attend school. Nader [51] find out a strong association between microcredit and children's education. Based on the discussion, microcredit has caused the change in income, enabled the participants to provide better health care, increase the provision of nutrition to the children, increase household consumption, enhance female empowerment, and enable the participants to save more [58].

#### **6.5 Evidence from different countries**

Microcredit has a positive impact on women's empowerment [59] which improves their family income and nutrition level. In Pakistan, it was s found that microcredit played important role in poverty alleviation and poverty reduced by 3.05% [28]. Similarly, in Bangladesh, every year, almost 1% of the total population is coming out from poverty in the country because microcredit played an important role in breaking out the vicious cycle [60]. In Zimbabwe, the microcredit borrowers experienced higher average growth in their business profit and family income [61]. In such a way, microcredit in terms of entrepreneurship is also very successful, especially in the case of women. In Malaysia, the microcredit entrepreneurs' profile was explored, and financing is one of the main variables that significantly affected the success of microcredit entrepreneurs [62]. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, the significant impact of microcredit on women entrepreneurship was found [63]. Moreover, the microcredit impact on nutrition can be explained by quoting the example from Malawi, which described that women's access to microcredit improved the young girls' long-term nutrition level [64].
