Impact of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia’s Microcredit Schemes on Hardcore Poor Households Quality of Life

The main objective of this study is to measure the impact of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) microcredit schemes on hardcore poor household's quality of life in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employed a cross-sectional design with stratified random sampling method to examine whether participation in AIM's microcredit programs improves the hardcore poor households quality of life. A quality of life index using sixteen selected indicators was developed. The findings confirmed that older respondents live in better and bigger houses, use permanent housing materials, use environmentally safe cooking fuel, enjoy healthy toilet facilities, own refrigerators, washing machines and televisions more than the new respondents. The mean quality of life score between old and new respondents also differs significantly. Therefore, AIM should review and re-organize their credit programs and policies in order to increase the outreach and improve client's ability to receive higher amount of loan