Since the 1980’s, we have seen growth in the popularity of microfinancing programs as a component of production projects and support projects for microenterprises in developing countries, because of their potential in the struggle against poverty and in favour of the empowerment of the most disadvantaged groups in the society, particularly women. On the basis of the capabilities theory of Amartya K. Sen and Martha C. Nussbaum, the article sets out to determine to what extent the microcredit can give rise to a process of transformation in the institutions that limit the economic, social and political opportunities of women and restrict their capability for realization. The analysis of the functioning of the market and interfamily relations from a gender perspective allows us to specify some of the positive effects of microcredits. At the same time, the analysis also brings out structural and organizational factors that may limit their impact, and looks at the challenges that organizations that manage this type of program have to meet in terms of design and assessment in order to guarantee that microfinancing promotes an institutional transformation that allows for a broadening of women’s capabilities.