Given the functional capabilities and the multiple formats in which POS and mobile phones are used by financial service providers, this note focuses on the relative merits of the POS and the mobile phone in a branchless banking environment. This compares the benefits and drawbacks of these two key delivery channels, their strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats inherent in the technologies.
Blog
Staff incentive schemes
In this video Martin Holtmann, Head of the Microfinance Unit in the IFC’s Global Financial Markets Department, talks about the staff incentive schemes typically followed by Microfinance Institutes (MFIs). Explaining the benefits of staff incentive schemes, Martin discusses various types of staff incentive schemes such as short-term monetary incentives and non-monetary incentives. Martin further explains that a mix of incentive schemes is suitable for today’s MFIs.
Costs and Benefits of Pilot Testing for Product Development
This briefing note emphasises on pilot testing as an important component of a new product development process which in turn helps institutions to become more viable and profitable. It explores lessons on the costs incurred, the benefits received and also draws experience from the MFIs that implemented the pilot testing process. It explains various costs—financial, non financial, psychological and reputation costs—associated with pilot tests. It also highlights the costs of failure and concludes with suggestions on lowering the costs of pilot testing.
Cost and Benefits of Market Research for Product Development
MicroSave’s experience and reviews of successful new products reveal that market research is the starting point in most successful product development. This note illustrates importance of market research in the entire product development process, which is often neglected by most of the institutions. It draws on experiences from seven countries—Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Bosnia, Herzegovina, India and the Dominican Republic. The study reveals that MFIs participated in the study enjoyed the cost benefit, better understanding of market, client perception and internal capacity, and enhancing image or reputation, among the several other benefits.
BRAC Approach To Microfinance
In this video Dr Fazle Abed, the founder and chairman of BRAC talks about the BRAC approach to microfinance and their recent expansion to Africa. He elaborates the BRAC’s role in tackling the various aspects of poverty in terms of finance, health, education and family planning. On Africa expansion, he stresses on the modifications required in the BRAC model to make it adaptive to the needs of Africa. He also stressed that microfinance should be looked not as a means of making money but as a means of alleviating poverty.
ShoreCap Exchange: Leveraging Human Capital For Performance And Growth
The ShoreCap Exchange forum addresses strategies and tools for attracting and retaining talent, enhancing the alignment of human resource practices with primary business goals and using human capital to build institutional strengths. ShoreCap Exchange is a ShoreBank capacity building company that helps banks working to serve small business and microfinance markets overcome the substantial operational challenges they face in dealing with clients not reached by traditional financial markets.