This paper examined the nature and extent of informal savings and credit among women micro-entrepreneurs in five rural communities of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Nigeria. It is a household study of 275 women engaged in various rural on-farm and off-farm activities. Our study has shown that informal savings in form of Ajo Esusu in its various forms (fixed fund and rotating fund) is popular among the rural women of Ado-Odo/Ota Local government of Ogun State. Participation rate is as high as 78% while average monthly savings mobilized is about N708,500 from our respondents. In addition to own savings, some of our respondents are able to source credit in form of loans from their savings associations. These savings and credit are applied to various developmemtal and consumption uses. Participants in these informal saving schemes reported improved business development and incomes. Our recommendation that necessary environment be created for the intervention of private, not-for-profit semi-formal financial intermediatries, will go a long way in facilitating domestic credit mobilization, just like Grameen bank in Bangladesh. This initiative, unlike the past corrupt-ridden and ineffective government-operated organizations, is expected to support the activities of informal savungs associations, create a better link with formal financial system and hence, help to improve rural women-owned enterprises, as well as their status in Nigeria.
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