Women living in South Africa's rural areas are very poor in money-metric terms and, at the same time, are vulnerable in terms of several other dimensions of poverty. This makes them extremely vulnerable to any crisis, whether illness, drought, or death in the family. The government acknowledges the suffering of women-headed households especially in rural areas and has responded with a range of development interventions. While these interventions, which include social assistance grants, basic service delivery, and free water, electricity, schooling, and health services, certainly improve the livelihoods of the rural poor, they do not, collectively, seem to improve the standard of living of the most vulnerable people in these marginalized areas. Evidence suggests that microfinance, delivered according to a particular methodology in the rural South African context, does improve the livelihood security and well-being of recipients. This article addresses the poverty situation in South Africa and evaluates the success of the Small Enterprise Foundation in improving the well-being of the poorest women in the rural areas of South Africa.

Alemu, Z.G. (2011) ‘Livelihood strategies in rural South Africa: Implications for poverty reduction’, presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R. and Kinnan, C. (2009) The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from Randomized Evaluation, Centre for Micro Finance Working Paper 31, Chennai: Institute for Financial Management and Research.

Berhane, G. and Gardebroek, C. (2011) ‘Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on household panel data from northern Ethiopia’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93: 43-55 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaq126≯.

Bhorat, H., Van der Westhuizen, C. and Cassim, A. (2009) Access to Household Services and Assets: Analysis Using the NIDS Wave 1 Dataset, National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Discussion Paper 4, Cape Town: Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU).

Calvo, C. (2008) ‘Vulnerability to multidimensional poverty: Peru, 1998-2002’, World Development 36: 1011-20 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.10.001≯.

Crépon, B., Devoto, F., Duflo, E. and Parienté, W. (2011) Impact of Microcredit in Rural Areas of Morocco: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation, Working Paper. Available at: http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659. http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659

DBSA (Development Bank of Southern Africa) (2011) Infrastructure Barometer, Midrand, South Africa: DBSA. Gine?, X. and Karlan, D. (2008) Group versus Individual Liability: A Field Experiment in the Philippines, Policy Research Working Paper 4008, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Hassan, R. and Birungi, P. (2011) ‘Social capital and poverty in Uganda’, Development Southern Africa 28: 19-37 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2011.545168≯.

Johnson, S. (2009) ‘Microfinance is dead! Long live microfinance! Critical reflections on two decades of microfinance policy and practice’, Enterprise Development and Microfinance 20: 291-303 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1755-1986.2009.033≯.

Klasen, S. and Woolard, I. (2009) ‘Surviving unemployment without state support: Unemployment and household formation in South Africa’, Journal of African Economies 18: 1-51 <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352≯. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352

Kolbe, N.C. (2009) The Small Enterprise Foundation's Replication of the Grameen Bank Microfinancing Model in South Africa, MBA thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand.

Laderchi, C.R., Saith, R. and Stewart, F. (2003) ‘Does it matter that we do not agree on the definition of poverty? A comparison of four approaches’, Oxford Development Studies 31: 243-74.

Leibbrandt, M., Woolard, I., Finn, A. and Argent, J. (2010) Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty Since the Fall of Apartheid, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5kmms0t7p1ms-en≯ [accessed March 2011].

Mayoux, L. (2005) ‘Women's empowerment through sustainable micro-finance: rethinking “best practice”’, Enterprise Development Impact Assessment Information Service. Available at: www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/ [accessed October 2012]. www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/

MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange) (2009) ‘Integrating social performance in operations: The case of the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) in South Africa’, MIX Social performance indicators [blog] <www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance≯ [accessed December 2009]. www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance

Moser, C. (2006) ‘Asset accumulation or social protection? Asset based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context’, paper for the Brookings Institution/Ford Foundation Workshop on Asset-based Approaches, Washington, DC, 27-28 June 2006.

Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L. (2007) Moving out of Poverty, vol. 1: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Mobility, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan for the World Bank.

Odell, K. (2010) Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Another Look, Washington, DC: Grameen Foundation.

Posel, D. and Rogan, M. (2012) ‘Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1997-2006’, Development Southern Africa 29 (1): 97-113 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2012.645645≯.

Pronyk, P.M. (2006) Development Finance, Social Capital and HIV/AIDS, PhD dissertation, London: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Morison, L.A., Phetla, G., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2007a) ‘Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: A cluster randomized trial’, The Lancet 368(9551): 1973-83 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69744-4≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R. and Morduch, J. (2007b) ‘Microfinance and better health: Prospects for sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of the American Medical Association 298(16): 1925-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.16.1925≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Harpham, J., Phetla, G., Morison, L.A., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Watts, C. and Porter, J. (2008a) ‘Can social capital be intentionally generated? A randomized trial from rural South Africa’, Social Science & Medicine 67(10): 1559-70 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.07.022≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Kim, J.C., Abramsky, T., Phetla, G., Hargreaves, J.R., Morison, L.A., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2008b) ‘A combined microfinance and training intervention can reduce HIV risk behaviour among young female participants: Results from the IMAGE Study’, AIDS 22: 1659-65.

RADAR (Rural AIDS and Development Action Research Programme) (2002) Social Interventions for HIV/AIDS: Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity. IMAGE Study Evaluation Monograph 1 [website], Johannesburg: RADAR, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand <www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f≯ [accessed October 2012]. www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f

Roberts, B. (2001) ‘Chronic and transitory poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal’, Journal of Poverty 5: 1-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J134v05n04_01≯.

Salmen, L. (1995) Participatory Poverty Assessment: Incorporating Poor People's Perspectives into Poverty Assessment Work, Social Development Papers 11, Washington, DC: World Bank.

SEF (Small Enterprise Foundation) (2011) Draft Annual Report, Tzaneen, South Africa: SEF.

Sen, A. (1983) ‘Development: Which way now?’ The Economic Journal, 93 (372): 745-62 <www.jstor.org/stable/2232744≯ www.jstor.org/stable/2232744

Simanowitz, A. (2000) SEF's Impact on Poverty: A Summary of Impact Assessment and Methodology Development Process in the Small Enterprise Foundation's Poverty-Targeting Programme, Tšhomišano, unpublished report, Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF).

Stats SA (Statistics South Africa) (2003) Income and Expenditure of Households 2005/2006: Analysis of Results. Pretoria: Stats SA.

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2010) Human Development Report, New York: Oxford University Press.

United Nations (2008) Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Recommendations of the MDG Africa Steering Group [website] <www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf≯ [accessed July 2009]. www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf

Woolard, I. and Leibbrandt, M. (2001) ‘Measuring poverty in South Africa’, in H. Bhorat, M. Leibbrandt, M. Maziya S. Van der Berg and I. Woolard (eds), Fighting Poverty: Labour Markets and Inequality in South Africa, Cape Town: University of Cape Town.

Zaman, H. (1999) Assessing the Poverty and Vulnerability Impact of Micro-credit in Bangladesh: A Case Study of BRAC, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Zuma, J.G. (2009) State of the Nation Address, Pretoria: The Presidency.

Alemu, Z.G. (2011) ‘Livelihood strategies in rural South Africa: Implications for poverty reduction’, presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R. and Kinnan, C. (2009) The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from Randomized Evaluation, Centre for Micro Finance Working Paper 31, Chennai: Institute for Financial Management and Research.

Berhane, G. and Gardebroek, C. (2011) ‘Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on household panel data from northern Ethiopia’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93: 43-55 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaq126≯.

Bhorat, H., Van der Westhuizen, C. and Cassim, A. (2009) Access to Household Services and Assets: Analysis Using the NIDS Wave 1 Dataset, National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Discussion Paper 4, Cape Town: Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU).

Calvo, C. (2008) ‘Vulnerability to multidimensional poverty: Peru, 1998-2002’, World Development 36: 1011-20 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.10.001≯.

Crépon, B., Devoto, F., Duflo, E. and Parienté, W. (2011) Impact of Microcredit in Rural Areas of Morocco: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation, Working Paper. Available at: http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659. http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659

DBSA (Development Bank of Southern Africa) (2011) Infrastructure Barometer, Midrand, South Africa: DBSA. Gine?, X. and Karlan, D. (2008) Group versus Individual Liability: A Field Experiment in the Philippines, Policy Research Working Paper 4008, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Hassan, R. and Birungi, P. (2011) ‘Social capital and poverty in Uganda’, Development Southern Africa 28: 19-37 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2011.545168≯.

Johnson, S. (2009) ‘Microfinance is dead! Long live microfinance! Critical reflections on two decades of microfinance policy and practice’, Enterprise Development and Microfinance 20: 291-303 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1755-1986.2009.033≯.

Klasen, S. and Woolard, I. (2009) ‘Surviving unemployment without state support: Unemployment and household formation in South Africa’, Journal of African Economies 18: 1-51 <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352≯. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352

Kolbe, N.C. (2009) The Small Enterprise Foundation's Replication of the Grameen Bank Microfinancing Model in South Africa, MBA thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand.

Laderchi, C.R., Saith, R. and Stewart, F. (2003) ‘Does it matter that we do not agree on the definition of poverty? A comparison of four approaches’, Oxford Development Studies 31: 243-74.

Leibbrandt, M., Woolard, I., Finn, A. and Argent, J. (2010) Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty Since the Fall of Apartheid, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5kmms0t7p1ms-en≯ [accessed March 2011].

Mayoux, L. (2005) ‘Women's empowerment through sustainable micro-finance: rethinking “best practice”’, Enterprise Development Impact Assessment Information Service. Available at: www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/ [accessed October 2012]. www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/

MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange) (2009) ‘Integrating social performance in operations: The case of the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) in South Africa’, MIX Social performance indicators [blog] <www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance≯ [accessed December 2009]. www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance

Moser, C. (2006) ‘Asset accumulation or social protection? Asset based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context’, paper for the Brookings Institution/Ford Foundation Workshop on Asset-based Approaches, Washington, DC, 27-28 June 2006.

Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L. (2007) Moving out of Poverty, vol. 1: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Mobility, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan for the World Bank.

Odell, K. (2010) Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Another Look, Washington, DC: Grameen Foundation.

Posel, D. and Rogan, M. (2012) ‘Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1997-2006’, Development Southern Africa 29 (1): 97-113 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2012.645645≯.

Pronyk, P.M. (2006) Development Finance, Social Capital and HIV/AIDS, PhD dissertation, London: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Morison, L.A., Phetla, G., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2007a) ‘Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: A cluster randomized trial’, The Lancet 368(9551): 1973-83 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69744-4≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R. and Morduch, J. (2007b) ‘Microfinance and better health: Prospects for sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of the American Medical Association 298(16): 1925-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.16.1925≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Harpham, J., Phetla, G., Morison, L.A., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Watts, C. and Porter, J. (2008a) ‘Can social capital be intentionally generated? A randomized trial from rural South Africa’, Social Science & Medicine 67(10): 1559-70 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.07.022≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Kim, J.C., Abramsky, T., Phetla, G., Hargreaves, J.R., Morison, L.A., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2008b) ‘A combined microfinance and training intervention can reduce HIV risk behaviour among young female participants: Results from the IMAGE Study’, AIDS 22: 1659-65.

RADAR (Rural AIDS and Development Action Research Programme) (2002) Social Interventions for HIV/AIDS: Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity. IMAGE Study Evaluation Monograph 1 [website], Johannesburg: RADAR, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand <www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f≯ [accessed October 2012]. www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f

Roberts, B. (2001) ‘Chronic and transitory poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal’, Journal of Poverty 5: 1-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J134v05n04_01≯.

Salmen, L. (1995) Participatory Poverty Assessment: Incorporating Poor People's Perspectives into Poverty Assessment Work, Social Development Papers 11, Washington, DC: World Bank.

SEF (Small Enterprise Foundation) (2011) Draft Annual Report, Tzaneen, South Africa: SEF.

Sen, A. (1983) ‘Development: Which way now?’ The Economic Journal, 93 (372): 745-62 <www.jstor.org/stable/2232744≯ www.jstor.org/stable/2232744

Simanowitz, A. (2000) SEF's Impact on Poverty: A Summary of Impact Assessment and Methodology Development Process in the Small Enterprise Foundation's Poverty-Targeting Programme, Tšhomišano, unpublished report, Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF).

Stats SA (Statistics South Africa) (2003) Income and Expenditure of Households 2005/2006: Analysis of Results. Pretoria: Stats SA.

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2010) Human Development Report, New York: Oxford University Press.

United Nations (2008) Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Recommendations of the MDG Africa Steering Group [website] <www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf≯ [accessed July 2009]. www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf

Woolard, I. and Leibbrandt, M. (2001) ‘Measuring poverty in South Africa’, in H. Bhorat, M. Leibbrandt, M. Maziya S. Van der Berg and I. Woolard (eds), Fighting Poverty: Labour Markets and Inequality in South Africa, Cape Town: University of Cape Town.

Zaman, H. (1999) Assessing the Poverty and Vulnerability Impact of Micro-credit in Bangladesh: A Case Study of BRAC, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Zuma, J.G. (2009) State of the Nation Address, Pretoria: The Presidency.

Alemu, Z.G. (2011) ‘Livelihood strategies in rural South Africa: Implications for poverty reduction’, presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R. and Kinnan, C. (2009) The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from Randomized Evaluation, Centre for Micro Finance Working Paper 31, Chennai: Institute for Financial Management and Research.

Berhane, G. and Gardebroek, C. (2011) ‘Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on household panel data from northern Ethiopia’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93: 43-55 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaq126≯.

Bhorat, H., Van der Westhuizen, C. and Cassim, A. (2009) Access to Household Services and Assets: Analysis Using the NIDS Wave 1 Dataset, National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Discussion Paper 4, Cape Town: Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU).

Calvo, C. (2008) ‘Vulnerability to multidimensional poverty: Peru, 1998-2002’, World Development 36: 1011-20 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.10.001≯.

Crépon, B., Devoto, F., Duflo, E. and Parienté, W. (2011) Impact of Microcredit in Rural Areas of Morocco: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation, Working Paper. Available at: http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659. http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659

DBSA (Development Bank of Southern Africa) (2011) Infrastructure Barometer, Midrand, South Africa: DBSA. Gine?, X. and Karlan, D. (2008) Group versus Individual Liability: A Field Experiment in the Philippines, Policy Research Working Paper 4008, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Hassan, R. and Birungi, P. (2011) ‘Social capital and poverty in Uganda’, Development Southern Africa 28: 19-37 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2011.545168≯.

Johnson, S. (2009) ‘Microfinance is dead! Long live microfinance! Critical reflections on two decades of microfinance policy and practice’, Enterprise Development and Microfinance 20: 291-303 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1755-1986.2009.033≯.

Klasen, S. and Woolard, I. (2009) ‘Surviving unemployment without state support: Unemployment and household formation in South Africa’, Journal of African Economies 18: 1-51 <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352≯. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.190.4352

Kolbe, N.C. (2009) The Small Enterprise Foundation's Replication of the Grameen Bank Microfinancing Model in South Africa, MBA thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand.

Laderchi, C.R., Saith, R. and Stewart, F. (2003) ‘Does it matter that we do not agree on the definition of poverty? A comparison of four approaches’, Oxford Development Studies 31: 243-74.

Leibbrandt, M., Woolard, I., Finn, A. and Argent, J. (2010) Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty Since the Fall of Apartheid, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5kmms0t7p1ms-en≯ [accessed March 2011].

Mayoux, L. (2005) ‘Women's empowerment through sustainable micro-finance: rethinking “best practice”’, Enterprise Development Impact Assessment Information Service. Available at: www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/ [accessed October 2012]. www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.26587/

MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange) (2009) ‘Integrating social performance in operations: The case of the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) in South Africa’, MIX Social performance indicators [blog] <www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance≯ [accessed December 2009]. www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2009/12/microfinance-glance

Moser, C. (2006) ‘Asset accumulation or social protection? Asset based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context’, paper for the Brookings Institution/Ford Foundation Workshop on Asset-based Approaches, Washington, DC, 27-28 June 2006.

Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L. (2007) Moving out of Poverty, vol. 1: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Mobility, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan for the World Bank.

Odell, K. (2010) Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Another Look, Washington, DC: Grameen Foundation.

Posel, D. and Rogan, M. (2012) ‘Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1997-2006’, Development Southern Africa 29 (1): 97-113 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2012.645645≯.

Pronyk, P.M. (2006) Development Finance, Social Capital and HIV/AIDS, PhD dissertation, London: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Morison, L.A., Phetla, G., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2007a) ‘Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: A cluster randomized trial’, The Lancet 368(9551): 1973-83 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69744-4≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Hargreaves, J.R. and Morduch, J. (2007b) ‘Microfinance and better health: Prospects for sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of the American Medical Association 298(16): 1925-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.16.1925≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Harpham, J., Phetla, G., Morison, L.A., Hargreaves, J.R., Kim, J.C., Watts, C. and Porter, J. (2008a) ‘Can social capital be intentionally generated? A randomized trial from rural South Africa’, Social Science & Medicine 67(10): 1559-70 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.07.022≯.

Pronyk, P.M., Kim, J.C., Abramsky, T., Phetla, G., Hargreaves, J.R., Morison, L.A., Watts, C., Busza, J. and Porter, J.D. (2008b) ‘A combined microfinance and training intervention can reduce HIV risk behaviour among young female participants: Results from the IMAGE Study’, AIDS 22: 1659-65.

RADAR (Rural AIDS and Development Action Research Programme) (2002) Social Interventions for HIV/AIDS: Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity. IMAGE Study Evaluation Monograph 1 [website], Johannesburg: RADAR, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand <www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f≯ [accessed October 2012]. www.aidsportal.org/web/guest/resource?id=6ea285e6-8b66-492a-8861-d1dffe5d9d0f

Roberts, B. (2001) ‘Chronic and transitory poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal’, Journal of Poverty 5: 1-27 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J134v05n04_01≯.

Salmen, L. (1995) Participatory Poverty Assessment: Incorporating Poor People's Perspectives into Poverty Assessment Work, Social Development Papers 11, Washington, DC: World Bank.

SEF (Small Enterprise Foundation) (2011) Draft Annual Report, Tzaneen, South Africa: SEF.

Sen, A. (1983) ‘Development: Which way now?’ The Economic Journal, 93 (372): 745-62 <www.jstor.org/stable/2232744≯ www.jstor.org/stable/2232744

Simanowitz, A. (2000) SEF's Impact on Poverty: A Summary of Impact Assessment and Methodology Development Process in the Small Enterprise Foundation's Poverty-Targeting Programme, Tšhomišano, unpublished report, Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF).

Stats SA (Statistics South Africa) (2003) Income and Expenditure of Households 2005/2006: Analysis of Results. Pretoria: Stats SA.

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2010) Human Development Report, New York: Oxford University Press.

United Nations (2008) Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Recommendations of the MDG Africa Steering Group [website] <www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf≯ [accessed July 2009]. www.mdgafrica.org/pdf/MDG%20Africa%20Steering%20Group%20Recommendations%20-%20English%20-%20LowRes.pdf

Woolard, I. and Leibbrandt, M. (2001) ‘Measuring poverty in South Africa’, in H. Bhorat, M. Leibbrandt, M. Maziya S. Van der Berg and I. Woolard (eds), Fighting Poverty: Labour Markets and Inequality in South Africa, Cape Town: University of Cape Town.

Zaman, H. (1999) Assessing the Poverty and Vulnerability Impact of Micro-credit in Bangladesh: A Case Study of BRAC, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Zuma, J.G. (2009) State of the Nation Address, Pretoria: The Presidency.

Alemu, Z.G. (2011) ‘Livelihood strategies in rural South Africa: Implications for poverty reduction’, presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R. and Kinnan, C. (2009) The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from Randomized Evaluation, Centre for Micro Finance Working Paper 31, Chennai: Institute for Financial Management and Research.

Berhane, G. and Gardebroek, C. (2011) ‘Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on household panel data from northern Ethiopia’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93: 43-55 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaq126≯.

Bhorat, H., Van der Westhuizen, C. and Cassim, A. (2009) Access to Household Services and Assets: Analysis Using the NIDS Wave 1 Dataset, National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Discussion Paper 4, Cape Town: Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU).

Calvo, C. (2008) ‘Vulnerability to multidimensional poverty: Peru, 1998-2002’, World Development 36: 1011-20 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.10.001≯.

Crépon, B., Devoto, F., Duflo, E. and Parienté, W. (2011) Impact of Microcredit in Rural Areas of Morocco: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation, Working Paper. Available at: http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659. http://economics.mit.edu/files/6659

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