There is increasing discussion of ‘market led’ microfinance, of placing customers first – but how do we know if an institution is becoming market led? The note discusses ‘signposts’ to the provision of market-led microfinance services such as: the organisation having vision and mission statements which are focused on delivering quality customer responsive financial services; the Board that maintains vision and mission; the Executive function which focuses on its customers and takes up supportive activities; the bank that develops and retains customer focused staff through investing in training, internal communications, innovative mechanism to build staff capacity, well-designed incentive schemes; the bank that retains a strong customer focus throughout its “front office” operations and Back office operations that support continually improving products and processes. These signposts reflect MicroSave’s experience with its Action Research Partners
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The Provident Financial Model: Innovation in South Africa’s Microfinance Industry
This research paper seeks to explore the options left to clients in the absence of user-owned and managed MFIs, and the clients’ perceptions and attitudes towards this possibility. It explores the entire financial landscape ranging from the informal, semi-formal to formal institutions.
It looks at the losses incurred by poor in the informal sector and attempts to understand the dynamics of the risk in order to develop appropriate policies and regulations governing financial services for the poor. This paper focuses on the comparative risk and describes functional issues only as they influence the relative safety of the users’ money and offers a range of suggestions drawn from discussions with clients and microfinance practitioners.
Poverty Africa Health Programme – Health Microinsurance
Poverty Africa (POA) is an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This paper highlights POA’s holistic health promotion strategy and institutional structure and describes its microinsurance scheme. It gives an overview of the scheme and analyzes the operating mechanism including – accounting and marketing strategy, sustainability, management and governance related issues and the role of the providers and their relationship with POA. The paper also addresses issues like client’s satisfaction with the product and the quality of health care services offered and problems regarding quality of health care. It highlights client’s concerns and associated risks to partner and includes a SWOT analysis to describe the scheme’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
MEDIPLUS Health Services – Nairobi, Kenya
This research study is part of the Micro-Insurance series produced by MicroSave and the Microinsurance Centre. The paper outlines the interventions and strategies adopted by MediPlus, a privately owned, for-profit health maintenance organisation (HMO) in Nairobi. While MediPlus is not involved in the actual delivery of health services, it provides healthcare information including education packages on the maintenance and control of specific health related problems. In addition, MediPlus provides access to preventive healthcare interventions to its customers. This study maps the institutional structure of MediPlus, its health schemes’ operating mechanism, its marketing strategy, management of risk and sustainability issues related to the organisation.
Community Health Plan (“CHeaP” – Kisumu, Kenya)
This research study is part of the Micro-Insurance series produced by MicroSave and the Microinsurance Centre.The paper describes the Community Health Plan (CHeaP), a project of the microfinance organisation CENT, in Kisumu, Kenya and how it uses a savings-based methodology for collecting health insurance premiums. CENT undertakes a preventative and holistic approach to health and development in general, including an orphans health project, HIV prevention, nutrition programs, clean water initiatives, a bed net program, and community based health care services in addition to the new health insurance plan.This paper outlines the CHeaP’s products, organizational structure and governance, operations, overall performance, risk management strategies, lessons learned and a SWOT analysis.
Kitovu Patients Pre-Payment Scheme (Kitovu Hospital, Masaka, Uganda)
Kitovu Patients’ Pre payment Scheme (KPPS) is a hospital-based model of health care provision operating in Masaka, Uganda. This paper briefly reviews the health care prepayment scheme of the hospital. At the same it also looks at the institutional structure of KPPS and its sustainability. Through a detail SWOT analysis the paper explores the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats associated with the scheme. Finally it suggests lessons that other MFIs and donors can learn from this experience.