Previous Projects
Have a look at some projects which our teams have worked on over the past cycles.
Haiti: Fonkoze
Focus: Redesigning delivery of financial literacy programmes
Project Cycle: 2017/18
Fonkoze is one of the largest MFIs in Haiti, and aims to provide financial and development services to empower Haitians, primarily women, to lift their families out of poverty.​
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In this project, the team were tasked to examine Fonkoze's existing financial literacy programme and recommend the most cost-effective method for scaling it upwards. They conducted a design thinking workshop for the MFI staff, and made recommendations which streamlined the existing programme and made it more scalable at a lower cost.
Philippines: Ahon Sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI)
Focus: Developing a green microfinance strategy
Project Cycle: 2017/18
ASHI was the first Grameen-model MFI in the Philippines, serving approximately 53000 active borrowers – all of whom are women — across the Philippines.
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In this project, the team were tasked to develop a green microfinance strategy for ASHI. They developed logframes to explore various best practices which ASHI could adopt, either through operational measures or through the loans they disburse to their clients, and made recommendations to how they can reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining their microfinance operations.
Vietnam: Tau Yeu May Fund
Focus: Competitor Analysis and Strategy Development
Project Cycle: 2016/17
Tao Yeu May Fund (TYM) is a microfinance institution (MFI) founded in Vietnam in 1992 by the Vietnam Women’s Union. Despite facing significant pressures from government-subsidised competitors, TYM has steadily expanded to reach out to over 75,000 clients in the rural areas of Northern and Central Vietnam, achieving a gross loan portfolio of USD $38 million.
This project focused on analyzing TYM’s competitors in the finance industry, including both MFIs and also commercial banks and other credit institutions. In addition, the team also developed a five-year business strategy for TYM.
Myanmar: Proximity Finance
Focus: Developing a Social Performance Management (SPM) Framework
Project Cycle: 2016/17
Proximity Finance was established in 2010 as a business unit of Proximity Designs, an award-winning social enterprise based in Yangon, Myanmar. As of August 2016, Proximity Finance has over 60,000 active clients in over 1,300 villages in the delta and dry zones of Myanmar, and a portfolio of almost USD $12 million.
This project focused on designing a Social Performance Management (SPM) framework (SPM frameworks are tools for MFIs to assess their social impact on communities in a systemised and transparent manner) which was specific to Proximity Finance's mission and niche in Myanmar.
Focus: Strategic Growth Planning
Project Cycle: 2016/17
Cooperativa Microfinanzas Prisma is a financial cooperative in Peru which offers financial services to rural communities. Since 2013, Prisma has established four agencies in different regions and accumulated $2 million in capital, with aims of expanding its reach to more communities in Peru. ​
This project focused on generating a strategic growth plan for Prisma, and through their interviews and findings in their field visit, developed a detailed implementation guide for the upper management to execute this strategy.
Nepal: Jeevan Bikas Samaj
Focus: Product Assessment and Strategy Development
Project Cycle: 2016/17
Established on September 1997, Jeevan Bikas Samaj (JBS) is the second largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Nepal with over 120,000 active clients and a gross loan portfolio of USD $50 million, and has partnered international organisations like the World Bank. ​
This project focused on assessing the impact and business viability of two microfinance products: education loans and pensions savings, as well as developing medium-term business strategies for both products.
Armenia: ACBA Credit Agricole
Focus: Business Strategy Development
Project Cycle: 2015/16
ACBA Credit Agricole is one of the largest banks in Armenia today, comprising 715 local village associations and 10 regional unions. ACBA’s development began with the distribution of very short-term micro-loans to farmers, but across the years they have expanded to providing loans to small and medium enterprises as well as consumer loans. ​
This project focused on conducting a SWOT and competitor analysis of the microfinance and finance industry in Armenia.
