Microfinance data collection digitally,and impact measurement in Bangladesh
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The document discusses data collection, analysis, and monitoring for microfinance institutions (MFIs). It describes conducting surveys and evaluating key factors when selecting villages for operations. It also discusses collecting operational records to measure effects. Frontline officers will be given smartphones to digitally collect household data every two months for analysis at the head office. This "smart" method is described as more time-saving, cost-effective, enabling immediate access and aggregation of data, and better for impact analysis than traditional paper-based collection. Regular monitoring provides MFIs with systematic client and institution status information to improve quality and alert them to issues.
Microfinance data collection digitally,and impact measurement in Bangladesh
- 1. Data collection, analysis, Monitoring
- 2. For choosing a village the MFI have to conduct a comprehensive survey to brief the potential for operations and the local conditions in a village. Then evaluating some key factors like village population, degree of poverty, road accessibility, political stability and safety. When a village has been selected, the MFI will introduce its mission, methodology and the services they are offering, then the operational record can measure its effect.
- 3. MFI with social mission means broad access to financial services, reduce poverty, empower women or promote economic development and regeneration.
- 4. Micro-savings: Access to savings option can boost household welfare. Micro-credit: micro-credit can help households to investment in new business or for growing business. Insurance: Insurance can help poor to mitigate risk and manage shocks. Payment: Payment( remittance) through mobile can reduce transaction cost.
- 5. An informational presentation will be held by our field officers. interested people will be gathered in group formations. They have to be in the age between 18 and 59. They will put them self together in groups of five to serve as guarantors for each other. Then the group training will begin, usually as a three day program in a week. The purpose is to educate the members in the procedures of the financial products, delivery methods, calculation of interest rates, business development skills and how to sign their names. The members are also taught in quality management, to identify an income generation activity.
- 6. The field staff will build a culture of credit discipline and collective responsibility. The field staff will make sure the members qualified for the program and then collect data for future analysis.
- 7. Staff of this institutes will be recommended to follow the principles of microfinance for collecting data: Thorough examination of potential clients of the institution; Thorough estimation of business viability and also income factors which can positively or negatively affect the results of work in specific conditions; Registration of documents and contracts related to credit issuance and microfinance services providing; Keep in touch with client in combination with monitoring of the terms of paying a credit, interests payments and with the aim to find out potential and real problems; Setting of interest rates for microfinance services compatible with market ones; Quick reaction to any problems which can complicate the perspectives.
- 8. Frontline field officers will be provided with smart phones to collect information on clients digitally. Then, every two months once field officers will collect detailed data on the condition of each household. The data will be electronically sent to the head office for analysis. Reasons why this ‘smart’ method of data collection should replace the traditional means of acquiring data on paper-
- 9. Time saving and cost-effective. In the traditional system where data will be collected on paper manually, the process can be very cumbersome. On the contrary, the ‘smart’ method is faster as it uploads digitized, real-time data on a central server and merges everything automatically. Immediate access. The real-time data from smart phones will be stored in a structured central database. This enables researchers to instantly locate relevant data and add further analysis or comments. Aggregation of data. The Smartphone platform automatically generates a unique household ID for each household. The unique ID enables researchers to observe how the programs, actually affect the lives of the clients. Research potential. A routine data collection system like this opens the door to numerous research questions. Just with a handful of other indicators, the dataset will be capable of answering numerous research questions like what factors affect the probability of a household sending its school-aged children to school or if households receiving support of the program do significantly better economically than other low-income households in the long run, etc. Ease of impact analysis. During the time of data collection, the rich panel datasets that will be generated are great tools to answer impact analysis questions. In order to understand the impact of the institution on the lives of those it serves.
- 10. A routine monitoring component provides an MFI with regular, systematic information on the status of clients. This timely information allows the staff and clients of an organization to make decisions to improve the quality of their work. Monitoring provides signals of change that can be used to alert the organization to issues that need to be better understood or may be used to monitor and report on performance targets.
- 11. The monitoring system provides information about the changes that have taken place among client institution and households. Indicators include: Institution level: profits, loss, value, assets. Product level: Insurance-Risk mitigating percentage, Savings-average consumption, credit-percentage change in new business or for growing business. Household members: gender equity, level of financial education, employment. Household: income and assets, expenditure on food, expenditure for education; Sources of income and sources of credit; and housing condition.
- 12. Credit risk :Credit risk is the risk to earnings or capital due to borrower’s late and non repayment of loan obligation. Liquidity risk : Liquidity risk is the risk of being unable to meet commitments, repayments and withdrawals at the correct time and place. Interest rate risk: Interest rate risk is adverse movements in interest rates, excessive interest rate risk can pose a significant threat to microfinance institutions' earnings and capital base. Operational risk: The risk of direct or indirect loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events.