Unveiling the Prospects, Impacts, and Constraints of Women’s Microfinancing Initiatives in South Asia: A Systematic Review
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript is a literature review on women's participation in microfinance and its effects in South Asia. The review topic is interesting, covering a less researched issue and a poor region of the world.
The authors do not mention how and from what databases the works were searched and how the papers were selected to be relevant.
The authors define 3 objectives, but they did not demonstrate their fulfilment or not.
Suggestions to the Authors:
· In section 2 – Methodology – please explain how and from what databases the works were searched and how the papers were selected to be relevant.
· In the final section it is necessary to argue the degree of achievement of the objectives.
· A comparison with the results of studies from other regions would add value to this paper.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor editing of English language required.
Author Response
File attached
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors,
The article presents a systematic review on the impact of microfinance initiatives on women's empowerment in South Asian countries. The article synthesizes findings from 38 studies to assess how microfinance affects women's decision-making, economic earnings, mobility, education, self-confidence and asset accumulation.
An important aspect is the regional coverage and the development of a consistent conceptual framework. In addition to the positive impacts, the analysis highlights the challenges of microfinance for women's empowerment in this region.
General Findings:
- The theme of the literature review is highly relevant and fills an important gap in synthesizing the evidence on the impact of microfinance on women, particularly in South Asia.
- The research methodology is systematic and appropriate, but more detail could be provided on the search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and quality assessment of included studies.
- The conceptual framework developed is coherent and rigorous, providing a useful model for understanding the factors influencing women's empowerment through microfinance.
- While different types of outcomes are examined, the review could use a more critical analysis of the heterogeneity/diversity of impact across different contexts and types of microfinance programs.
- The analysis is rather descriptive in parts. A more in-depth analysis and synthesis of the main themes and patterns in the included studies would add value to the article.
Specific comments:
- Review method -Lines 197-211, pp 5-6: More details are needed on the methodology of the systematic review, including the databases searched, search terms used, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and approach to data extraction and synthesis.
- Lines 615-638, pp 14: This section summarizing the main findings could be expanded with a more critical analysis of patterns and inconsistencies between studies.
- Figure 4, pp 15: The conceptual framework is useful, but could be better explained in the text, including explanation of essential factors.
- Lines 674-690, pp 15-16: The section on limitations could be expanded, including discussion of potential biases in the included studies.
The article provides a valuable synthesis of the evidence on women's microfinance in South Asia, but could be strengthened by a more rigorous and clear methodology, deeper critical analysis, and stronger links to theory and policy implications.
Good luck!
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor editing of English language required!
Author Response
File attached
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
