Savings and the MFI Porfolio

For over 30 years, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been successfully serving some of the poor and poorest people around the world, primarily with credit products. Generally however, MFIs grapple to successfully add savings services to their portfolio of financial products. Whether offering savings as a way to provide additional valued 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. This article by Debbie Dean of our Solutions for the Poorest team explores how market research, product design and testing, marketing, technology, alternative delivery channels, and a microfinance institution’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.