Article discusses how MFIs can provide accessible, affordable and secure service
September 29, 2011 - Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been successfully serving some of the poor and poorest people around the world, primarily with loans and other credit products for more than 30 years. However, MFIs that take deposits have struggled to successfully provide savings services. Whether offering savings as a way to provide additional financial services to clients or to have a reliable source of funding, or both, MFIs must learn to bring together people and technology and build the capacity and infrastructure to grow this business.
In the June 2011 issue of Enterprise Development and Microfinance journal, Debbie Dean, Grameen Foundation’s Microsavings Project Director, discusses how market research, product design and testing, marketing, technology, alternative delivery channels, and an MFI's ability to transform from a credit-led institution to a market-led institution can assist it in reaching poor savers with products that are accessible, affordable and secure.
Note: This article (“Savings and the MFI portfolio: Bridging the gap between the needs of the poor and the capability of the institution”) is now available online for a fee through Practical Action Publishing and Publishing Technology.