It is widely accepted that women are central to household wel l-being and nat ionalrneconomic development. However, the role of women is impeded because they generallyrnhold a low status in many developing countri es. Owing to historical and culturalrndi sadvantages, women are also more vulnerable to poverty. In addition to being a humanrnrights issue, the prevailing condition of women calls for taking measures to empowerrnthem. The empowerment of women is also the basis for tran sforming li ves at thernhousehold level and in the wider society. Ln th is regard, the delivery of microfinance isrnone of the approaches to the empowerment of women. This study has the objective ofrnassessing the impact of microfinance in the empowerment of women. It recogni zes thernmultidimensional nature of empowerment as a process invo lving personal, soci al ,rneconomic and political dimensions.rnThe research was conducted at the Specialized Financial and Promotional In stitutionrn(SFPl). The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain a reliablerndata. Data were derived from a questionnaire su rvey of a sample of 373 women clientsrnof the SFPI. In addition, tluÂ·ee focus group discussions were conducted invo lving 18rnwomen whi le in-depth interviews were carried out with another 12.rnThe study establishes that improved access to microfinance has been able to empowerrnwomen economically. Although the results vary, the study indicated that the income andrnsaving levels of the majority of the clients have increased after the delivery ofrnmicrofinance. Encouraging results have also been shown in the enhancement of thernwomen's of self-confidence with respect to the capability to work on their own andrnimprove their lives. On the other hami, there is no indication of an enhancement in therndecision making power of women and in their political empowerment as reflected inrnrespect for their legal rights, ownership of household assets and holding of politicalrnpositions. [n addition, the deli very of micro finance has failed to bring about changes inrntheir decision making at the household level.rnThe study recognizes the limits of the transformative capaciti es of microfinance and itrnshows that financial empowerment does not necessarily lead to a transformation Inrngender relation ships which is a basis for the overall empowerment of women .