The role of informal microfinance institutions in saving

• Data on the internet were located using search tools. The World Wide Web was
searched for information. The convenience of the Web and the extraordinary amount
of information to be found on it are compelling reasons for using it as an information
source (Cooper and Schindler, 2001). Search engine such as Yahoo=
(http://yahoo.com), Google=(http://www.google.com), Hotmail=
http://www.hotmail.com and MSN= (http://www.msn.com) were used to access vast
information on SACCOs that assisted in the study. Other sources of information used
include personal or informal discussions with associates and friends in the Key sub-
sectors relevant to the study as well as personal documents provided by them. Abdullah
(2005) noted the need to meet the following criteria in using personal documents in a
study of this nature.
(i) That the document must be a written one.
(ii) That the document must have been produced on the authors initiative or if not,
in such a way that their introspective content has been determined entirely by
author, and
(iii) That the document focused on the authors personal experiences.
NOTE: All sources of data, both primary and secondary sources were evaluated to ensure
that they are relevant to the research objectives as well as assist the researcher to
answer the research questions.
In the first stage, questionnaires were to select SACCOs in Northern Zone, Central Zone, Lake
Zone, Southern Highlands Zone and Lake Zone: Regions covered.
The study covered the following SACCOs and their respective Regions and Zones:
I: Northern Zone: Regions Covered: - Arusha and Tanga Regions
III. Central Zone: Regions covered: - Dodoma and Singida Regions.
IV. Lake Zone: Regions covered:-Mara and Mwanza Regions.
V. Southern Highlands Zone- Mbeya, Iringa, Rukwa and Ruvuma Regions.
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