Major Comments

Theoretical Review and Integration

This study was anchored in Empowerment Theory as advanced by Zimmerman (2000), which conceptualizes empowerment as both a process and an outcome through which individuals gain control over their lives, resources, and decision-making power. The theory emphasizes individuals’ capacity to make informed choices, act on them, and influence the social, economic, and institutional structures that shape their opportunities. The key dimensions of empowerment include self-determination, competence, participation, and access to resources . Empowerment Theory provides a useful analytical analysis for understanding how financial training, access to credit, structured savings mechanisms, and supportive government policies can enhance women’s agency, confidence, and economic autonomy.

Empowerment Theory aligns strongly with development interventions targeting marginalized populations, particularly women, by emphasizing capacity-building and participatory change . Through SACCO participation, women are exposed to financial literacy, collective decision-making, and economic opportunities that strengthen both psychological empowerment (such as self-efficacy, confidence, and perceived control) and economic empowerment (including income generation, savings accumulation, and control over financial resources). The theory’s flexibility allows it to capture empowerment as a dynamic and process, making it appropriate for analyzing cooperative-based financial strategies implemented in Masaka District.

However, despite its analytical strengths, Empowerment Theory has been widely criticized for its overemphasis on individual agency and limited engagement with structural, institutional, and cultural constraints . In patriarchal societies such as Uganda, women’s financial empowerment is often shaped by deeply entrenched gender norms, household power relations, customary practices, and unequal access to productive resources. Increased access to credit or financial knowledge does not automatically translate into empowerment if women lack authority over financial decisions or face social sanctions for economic independence. As such, the assumption that resource access naturally leads to empowerment may not hold in contexts where socio-cultural and institutional barriers persist. The theory provides limited guidance on how such barriers can be transformed, thereby constraining its explanatory power across different culture. This study extends Empowerment Theory through theoretical integration with complementary frameworks like Capability Approach enhances the analysis by emphasizing not only access to resources but also women’s real freedoms and abilities to convert those resources into valued outcomes and This explains why some women benefit more from SACCO strategies than others, even when exposed to similar interventions. The Institutional Theory provides insight into how formal institutions (such as SACCO regulations and government policies) and informal institutions (including norms, customs, and gender roles) shape women’s financial behavior and decision-making power. The Gender and Development (GAD) framework strengthens the analysis by foregrounding power relations and social structures that influence women’s access to and control over economic resources. The study moves beyond a purely individualistic understanding of empowerment and adopts a multidimensional and context-sensitive framework . Empirical findings support this integrated approach, demonstrating that SACCO strategies particularly financial training and savings programs significantly enhanced women’s financial empowerment by improving confidence, decision-making capacity, and financial independence. However, the findings also reveal that cultural norms and household power relations mediated these effects , confirming that empowerment does not occur in isolation but is embedded within broader socio-cultural and institutional reasons. Therefore, as Empowerment Theory provides a strong foundation for analyzing women’s financial empowerment through SACCO strategies, its explanatory power is enhanced when complemented by theories that account for capabilities, institutions, and gendered power structures to promote women’s financial empowerment in Masaka District.

Qualitative Findings

Qualitative data were generated through key informant interviews with SACCO managers and focus group discussions (FGDs) with women SACCO members. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach: familiarization, initial coding, theme development, theme review, theme definition, and reporting. An initial open coding process was conducted to identify recurring concepts related to SACCO strategies, financial behaviors, and socio-cultural influences. These codes were then grouped into axial categories that reflected patterns of empowerment processes and constraints. Finally, selective coding was used to integrate themes around women’s financial empowerment.

Findings indicated that SACCO strategies played a central role in enhancing women’s financial empowerment through multiple, interrelated pathways. Financial training strategy emerged as a dominant theme, with participants emphasizing improvements in budgeting, record-keeping, loan management, and small business planning. Women reported greater confidence in handling money and making informed financial decisions, reflecting both psychological and economic dimensions of empowerment. As one participant noted:

“Before the training, I was just selling and spending. Now I record everything and know whether I am gaining or losing.”

Access to tailored credit facilities and flexible loan terms enabled women to invest in income-generating activities such as market vending, agriculture, and small-scale trading. Unlike informal lenders, SACCOs were perceived as more understanding of women’s financial cycles and household responsibilities. This flexibility reduced fear of default and encouraged productive investment rather than consumption-based borrowing. Group savings mechanisms and participatory governance further reinforced empowerment by fostering accountability, trust, and collective responsibility. Regular savings meetings and peer monitoring encouraged discipline and consistency, while involvement in SACCO decision-making enhanced women’s sense of ownership and voice within the institution.

Cultural factors emerged as a cross-cutting theme that both constrained and enabled women’s financial empowerment. Approximately 32% of women reported resistance from spouses or extended family members, particularly during initial engagement with SACCO activities. Dominant narratives portrayed women’s access to credit as a threat to male authority or household stability. As one participant explained:

“Some people in the village say women are being spoilt by SACCOs because they no longer wait for men.”

Such resistance limited women’s autonomy over loan utilization and savings decisions, often requiring spousal approval or secrecy. Qualitative data also revealed contradictions and evolving cultural dynamics as some women described gradual shifts in spousal attitudes following visible economic contributions to the household. Peer influence and group solidarity within SACCOs also helped women negotiate acceptance and legitimacy. One participant reflected:

“My husband used to say women don’t need loans. Now he helps me with my market stall.”

This indicates that empowerment was not a linear process but one characterized by negotiation, resistance, and adaptation, where economic success and social networks played a transformative role in reshaping gender relations.

Quantitative results showed that SACCO strategies financial training, access to credit, savings, and government policy support positively and significantly predicted women’s financial empowerment (R² = 0.304, F(4,335) = 36.526, p < 0.001). Qualitative findings corroborate these results by demonstrating how and why these strategies worked in practice, particularly through enhanced financial literacy, income generation, and confidence in decision-making.

However, both strands of data converge on the moderating role of culture while regression analysis indicated that cultural norms weakened the positive effects of SACCO strategies, qualitative narratives revealed the lived experiences behind this statistical relationship, including spousal resistance, community stigma, and gradual norm change.

Discussion

This study examined the moderating role of cultural factors on sacco strategies and women’s financial empowerment in Masaka district, Uganda.

The first hypothesis (H₀₁) tested whether SACCO strategies specifically financial training, savings, access to credit, and government policy significantly influence women’s financial empowerment. The multiple regression results revealed a statistically significant positive relationship (R² = 0.304, p < 0.001), indicating that these strategies explain a substantial proportion of the variation in women’s financial empowerment. This finding confirms that SACCOs play a key role in enhancing women’s financial empowerment.

Empowerment Theory (Zimmerman, 2000) showed that access to financial resources, skills, and participatory structures strengthens women’s control over economic choices. Quantitative results are reinforced by qualitative accounts in which women described improved budgeting, record-keeping, and business planning skills, as well as increased confidence in handling financial matters. Statements such as “Now I record everything and know whether I am gaining or losing” illustrate the process dimension of empowerment, where knowledge acquisition translates into enhanced self-efficacy and autonomy.

These findings are consistent with earlier studies in Uganda and Kenya, which found that cooperative membership enables women to expand income-generating activities, improve household welfare, and participate more actively in economic decision-making (Nakato & Makombe, 2020; Wanjiru, 2019). However, this study advances existing literature by demonstrating that empowerment occurs not only through credit access but also through integrated SACCO strategies, particularly financial training and group-based savings, which emerged as key drivers of sustained empowerment.

While SACCO strategies had a positive and significant influence, both quantitative and qualitative findings reveal that cultural factors moderate the extent to which empowerment is realized. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis showed that entrenched gender norms, household control over women’s income, and social expectations favoring short-term consumption constrained women’s financial agency. Approximately 32% of women reported spousal or familial resistance to their participation in SACCO activities, particularly in relation to loan uptake and independent financial decision-making.

Qualitative narratives give depth to this statistical pattern, revealing how patriarchal norms shape everyday financial practices. Expressions such as “Some people in the village say women are being spoilt by SACCOs” reflect community-level resistance to shifting gender roles. These findings align with previous research documenting the restrictive influence of cultural norms on women’s economic participation in East Africa (Kumar et al., 2020). However, the qualitative data also reveal contradictions and gradual norm change, as some women reported increased spousal support after demonstrating tangible economic contributions to the household. This highlights empowerment as a negotiated and relational process, rather than an automatic outcome of resource access. While the positive effects of SACCO strategies validate the theory’s emphasis on individual capacity-building and participatory processes, the moderating role of cultural factors challenges its implicit assumption that access to resources inevitably leads to empowerment.

The findings suggest that while SACCO strategies are effective in enhancing women’s financial empowerment, their impact can be strengthened by addressing cultural barriers. Interventions that involve men, promote household financial dialogue, and incorporate gender-sensitization programs may enhance acceptance and sustainability of women’s economic participation.

Minor Comments

Measurement of Cultural factors

Cultural factors were operationalized using Likert-scale items capturing respondents’ perceptions of gender norms, household decision-making authority, spousal support, and community attitudes toward women’s financial participation. This quantitative approach enabled systematic measurement of cultural influences and facilitated statistical testing of their moderating effect on the relationship between SACCO strategies and women’s financial empowerment. However, the study recognizes that culture is a complex, dynamic, and context-specific construct that cannot be fully captured through standardized survey items alone. Reducing cultural norms to Likert-scale responses risks oversimplifying deeply embedded beliefs, power relations, and everyday practices that shape women’s financial behavior. Such measures may capture attitudes and perceptions but are less effective in revealing how norms are negotiated, resisted, or transformed over time.

The study supplemented quantitative measurement with qualitative methods, including focus group discussions and key informant interviews. These qualitative approaches provided richer insights into the meanings, narratives, and lived experiences underlying survey responses, revealing contradictions and variations in how cultural norms operate within households and communities. Participant narratives illustrated how women navigated spousal resistance, community expectations, and shifting gender roles dimensions that could not be adequately explained through Likert items alone. The findings suggest that future research could benefit from integrating observation, life-history interviews, or discourse analysis to capture the deeper symbolic and relational aspects of culture.

Variance Explained

The regression model assessed the combined influence of SACCO strategies financial training, savings, access to credit, and government policy support on women’s financial empowerment, with cultural factors incorporated as a moderating variable. The model was statistically significant (F = 36.53, p < 0.001) and explained 30.4% of the variance in women’s financial empowerment (R² = 0.304; Adjusted R² = 0.295).This level of explanatory power indicates that SACCO strategies make a meaningful and substantive contribution to women’s financial empowerment. However, the findings also imply that approximately 69.6% of the variance remains unexplained, suggesting the presence of other influential factors beyond the scope of the current model. The unexamined influences include women’s educational level, access to markets, household income levels, institutional quality and governance of SACCOs, financial infrastructure, and broader socio-economic conditions. The moderating role of cultural factors underscores the complexity of empowerment processes and supports the argument that financial inclusion interventions operate within broader social and institutional environments.

“Mediation” vs. “moderation”

We appreciate the reviewer’s observation. We would like to clarify that cultural factors were treated as a moderating variable in this study, not as a mediating variable. Specifically, cultural factors are conceptualized to change the strength or direction of the relationship between SACCO strategies (financial training, savings, access to credit, and government policy) and women’s financial empowerment. We kindly request that the revised manuscript be considered with this clarification applied consistently throughout.

Policy Implications

Enhancement of SACCO Programs: SACCOs should expand financial literacy training, provide flexible credit facilities, and promote participatory governance to ensure that women have meaningful influence over financial decisions. In line with Empowerment Theory, these strategies enhance individual agency, competence, and self-efficacy, enabling women to make informed choices and assert control over household and business financial resources.

Culturally Sensitive Interventions: Programs should actively engage spouses, family members, and community leaders to reduce cultural barriers and strengthen social support networks. This approach reflects the Capability Approach, emphasizing that empowerment requires not only access to resources but also the freedom and social conditions necessary to convert these resources into meaningful outcomes. Awareness campaigns, community dialogues, and joint financial planning initiatives can facilitate cultural shifts that support women’s participation in economic decision-making.

Policy Support and Regulation: Government and regulatory bodies should incentivize gender-responsive policies within SACCO frameworks, ensuring equitable access to financial resources. Policies should also include mechanisms to monitor socio-cultural barriers, such as restrictions on women’s decision-making power, thereby institutionalizing conditions that enable empowerment.

Integration of Institutional and Social Support: Combining formal financial services with mentorship, peer support, and community engagement ensures that women’s empowerment is sustained beyond transactional interactions. This integration promotes long-term resilience and economic independence by reinforcing both individual capabilities and supportive social structures, aligning with both Empowerment Theory and the Capability Approach.