III.5.2- Impact assessment
Social performances can be evaluated though the analysis of
impact on the customers, i.e. answering the following question: "What is the
payoff of a dollar lent in terms of additional income for the recipient?"
(Lapenu et al., 2004). The impact consists in understanding how financial
services affect the existence of poor; it represents the changes on customers
that are ascribable to the action taken by the MFI. These changes constitute
the social output of an investment provided by lenders (or donors) that are
backing MFIs; the latter need to know if the financial support they bring to
MFIs achieved well the goal that they set: Thus, they are concerned with the
outcomes estimates (Lelart, 2006).
It seems natural to measure the impact of micro-credit, but
some recognized microfinance experts are sceptical and decide against a
thorough evaluation of impact on the following grounds: Impact studies are
expensive, especially if they are regularly repeated; most impact analyses do
not respect rigorous criteria in cases of changes observed in the customers?
life that do not directly depend on MFIs but rather on other factors. The
measurement of impact raises methodological problems: The calculation of income
(or expenditure) must be adjusted according to Purchasing Power Parity and loan
size is not an accurate indicator of poverty (Van Bastelaer and Zeller, 2006).
However, in spite of these shortcomings, investigations prove to be necessary
and must be multiplied in order to compare their results. Most used criteria to
evaluate the impact of MFIs on recipient populations are the improvement of
incomes and consumption, the start-up of very small businesses and generally
speaking the improvement of living conditions.
III.5.2.1- Impact on income
Real impact of MFIs on the income of poor has been reviewed as
regards various experiments in South Asia, Africa and Latin America (Montalieu,
2002). The first impact studies carried out by Hulme and Mosley (1996) relate
to 13 MFIs located in seven countries (Indonesia, Kenya, Bolivia, Malawi,
Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka), which were operating between 1989 and 1993.
They show that the granting of credit had a positive impact on the income of
poor borrowers; impact was all the more important if MFIs just drive their
action towards borrowers standing above the poverty line who request risky
loans intended to invest in technologies and to continue activities which are
more likely to increase income flows (CGAP, 1997). By contrast,
39
Analysis of microfinances' performance and
development of informal institutions in Cameroon
By Djamaman Brice Gaétan
very poor borrowers seek to ensure their subsistence thanks to
weak amount loans and do not invest in an economic activity, accumulate capital
or hire workforce (Hulme and Mosley, 1996).
Other impact studies corroborate the assumption of a positive
effect of microfinance on the borrowers? income: In Guinea, Nicaragua and
Benin, as regards three credit systems monitored by IRAM (Doligez, 2005) as
well as in Burkina Faso, whereby comparative analysis of the situation of
recipients vs. non recipients showed that recipient women could carry out
multiple productive activities and diversify their sources of income, while
improving and stabilizing the average income drawn from their activity
(Soulama, 2005).
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