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| Assessing the Impact of Innovation Grants in Financial Services |
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www.fsassessment.umd.edu Measuring the impact of financial services on the welfare of poor people has long been a challenge in the development field. Despite many attempts at documenting its effects, debate continues about the extent to which financial services matter and for whom. While previous assessments have shown that impacts are generally positive, they do not match the enthusiastic rhetoric of the field, and some may even be negative. Studies also have shown that microfinance programs tend to reach households, which are just above or below the poverty line, rather than those who are extremely poor, surviving at 50% or more below the poverty line. Equally importantly, the studies suggest that there is scope for increasing the impacts of financial services – especially for poorer households – through innovations and improvements in products, services, and delivery systems.
The proposed research is unprecedented in its scope. It will examine the impact of innovations offered by five organizations that have received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
• ACCION International - India
• Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance - Pakistan
• Development Alternatives, Inc. - TBD
• Opportunity International - Malawi
• Pro Mujer - Peru
Vision of Success
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s decision to support this diverse range of innovative business models in financial services offers a unique opportunity to examine, compare and extract valuable lessons from a wide range of products, technologies, delivery systems, and countries. With its consideration of access to and use of these innovations, this project is the first impact assessment to consider how the role of different inputs and delivery systems affects outcomes.
The knowledge generated by the studies will serve two specific learning agendas – to prove impact and improve program operations and effectiveness:
By proving or identifying changes that can be associated with different microfinance business models and products, the studies will serve as a guide to help the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other donors and investors in their future efforts in financial services.
This deeper understanding of impacts and impact processes will help financial services providers look beyond impact, from what has occurred in the past towards what should change in the future to improve their products and service delivery.
Documents for download:
Microsavings Programs: Assessing Demand and Impact (prepared as part of Planning Phase) |
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| Dates: August 2006 - July 2011 |
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Project Director: Dennis Wood
E-mail: dwood@umd.edu |
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Program Manager: Diana Rutherford
E-mail: diana@iris.umd.edu |
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| Last updated on: 10/20/2008 |
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