Indigenous women development associations and thrift credit mobilization as a pathway to socio-economic wellbeing of rural dwellers in Akwa Ibom State Southern Senatorial District, Nigeria

Access to formal financial services remains one of the most significant structural barriers confronting rural women in sub-Saharan Africa, with profound implications for household poverty, entrepreneurship, and community development. This study examines the relationship between thrift credit mobilization activities of indigenous women development associations and the socio-economic wellbeing of rural dwellers in Akwa Ibom State Southern Senatorial District, Nigeria. Anchored in the Integrated Rural Development Model and the Human Capital Model, the study employed a cross-sectional survey design with data collected from 400 women drawn through multi-stage purposive, cluster, and systematic sampling across twelve Local Government Areas, supplemented by key informant interviews. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient analysis was used to test the study hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between thrift credit mobilization and socio-economic wellbeing of rural dwellers (r = 0.506, critical r = 0.113, df = 398, p < 0.05), leading to rejection of the null hypothesis. Descriptive analysis showed overwhelming endorsement of thrift credit services, with over 88% of respondents reporting that women collective organizations provide access to financial resources and enable productive economic activity. The study concludes that indigenous women development association-administered thrift credit schemes constitute a critical, currently underutilized lever for rural poverty alleviation and recommends formal integration of these informal financial mechanisms with microfinance institutional frameworks, capacity building in financial management, and policy recognition of women associations as legitimate rural development partners.