A microfinance institution is a business. Like any business, MFIs are competitive with one another. While MFIs currently serve only a portion of the poverty pie, they compete for existing clients. It is important to create a product that appeals to the client and offer high levels of service in order to keep your clients. This is particularly true in the Philippines, where things are relationship-driven and the people are emotional. For example, NWTF has an issue with client attrition because it sometimes has difficulty distributing new loans immediately after the old one has termed out. The women feel hurt and slighted when this happens, and drop out of the program as a result. In turn, they will join another MFI. That was a tangential anecdote to emphasize the competitive nature of this business. Yet this past week I attended a conference in Manila on “Operationalizing Social Performance Monitoring,” which highlighted the cooperative nature of microfinance institutions. It was hosted by the Microfinance Council of the Philippines and attended by MFIs from all across the country. Continue reading
Working Toward a Common Goal
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