Projects

The following projects were conducted by MFC:

Gender Mainstreaming in the Region of Europe and Central Asia

Region: Caucasus (Azerbaijan & Armenia)
Timeline: March 2010 – December 2011

The ultimate goal of the Project is to experiment on innovative solutions aiming at gender mainstreaming in microfinance. The project aims at Microfinance Customers empowerment through:

  • Equipping Customers in gender-focused and life planning tools offered in an attractive and entertaining format and adapted to the local context of Caucasus region;
  • Enabling Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to better support their Customers with non-financial services, which ensure gender equality and equity for Customers, and sustainability for an MFI.

The project includes two components:

1. Developing a self-help Empowerment Booklet

The goal of the Component is to develop a model, in which an MFI facilitates the process of the empowerment of female Customers trough the experiences offered by other successful micro-entrepreneurs. The project uses Gender Action Learning System (GALS): an innovative methodology, originated in work by dr Linda Mayoux, based on inclusive and participatory principles and simple mapping and diagram tools. During the project, the GALS tools are adapted to the local context and made available through to self-study Booklet. This Booklet is a ready-to-use tool containing entertaining life planning exercises (situated in the in the context of business improvement) and examples of some success stories of clients using life planning tools. The Booklet can be used for individual reflection on life goals or for work on organising of female self-help study groups and counseling services. The Gender project aims to promote the gender mainstreaming idea within the framework of the local stakeholders – NGOs and MFIs.

Activities:
Within the framework of this component, project activities are implemented in Azerbaijan, in cooperation with Azeri partners: AMFA (Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association) and AzerCredit (local MFI).

  • During the first phase of the Project, the GALS tools were pilot tested and adapted to the context of Azerbaijan. As a result, a self-empowerment Booklet has been prepared in two language versions: in Azeri and in English (for wider distribution);
  • In September 2011, a promotional two-month campaign was launched to test in practice the use of the Booklet by the clients of AzerCredit;
  • Also, a rich database of Azeri NGOs & institutions working in the area of different gender aspects was established to ensure wide distribution of the project findings and outputs.

To find out more about project results please read Women empowerment and gender mainstreaming into microfinance_project summary and Self-Study Booklet Implementation Manual

2. Gender mainstreaming through Social Performance Management (SPM)

SPM is acknowledged as a valuable tool to ensure that microfinance programs follow and respect the primary social mission. Gender awareness and gender policies practical implementation is considered by SPM pioneers to be important part of the SPM, together with such issues as social responsibility to staff, environment, community, or Client Protection. In view of this, the aim of the component is to strengthen the gender perspective in the SPM, trough widening the gender components in SPM assessment tool.  
MFC has developed a diagnostic tool – the Quality Audit Tool (QAT), which is designed to review and improve the effectiveness of management processes for achieving social goals. Gender awareness policies and their practical implementations are one of the areas of interest within the QAT diagnosis.  
This component aims to elaborate an enhanced QAT process methodology offered for MFIs, which would be able to conduct the diagnosis of their institutional systems and processes on themselves or with external facilitator.

Activities:

  • As a main output of this component an innovative QAT methodology was developed, building on the MFC audit, GMLT* strategy and existing gender checklists. It includes mainstreaming gender into social performance management in the context of the Caucasus region.
  • In autumn 2011, the enhanced QAT-Gender methodology will be tested for gender mainstreaming in Armenia, in cooperation with local MFIs;
  • In parallel, it is planned to identify partners with other organisations to promote gender justice and women’s empowerment.
  • Additionally, as a result of the QAT-Gender testing process, the component will produce a promotional and informative 8-page publication overviewing the process, its purpose, uses and outcomes.

To learn more on gender mainstreaming initiatives, please visit:
-    Program on Sustainable Micro-finance for Women's Empowerment: http://www.genfinance.info 
-    WEMAN initiative: http://www.wemanglobal.org
-    Gender in SPM: Gender Working Group at Social Performance Task Force: http://sptf.info/sp-task-force/working-groups#5

* GMLT – the strategy by Oxfam Novib on the Gender Mainstreaming and Leadership Trajectory

Research of Gender Issue in Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Region: Balkans, Europe
Timeline: first quarter of 2008

The ultimate goal of research, conducted in the first quarter of 2008, was to deepen the understanding of gender issues across the microfinance sector, both on the MFI level and among microfinance Consumers. The research were structured in three phases to analyze the situation from different angles, starting from the insight into the issues on the state level and the government agenda, down to the institutions and their Consumers:

  • General overview of gender issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Focus on Microfinance institutions
  • Focus on Microfinance Consumers

Main findings

The Bosnia study results revealed, that it is assumed in Bosnian MF sector, that women have the same financial needs as men; thus MFIs offer them exactly the same financial products and services. As women focused MFIs are perceived those MFIs, which apply group lending methodology. Even those MFIs, which strategy is oriented to serve women, know little about their needs, the product uses and the impact of financial services offered.
At the same time, greater proportion of the loan portfolio is in the hands of men. Men are taking larger loans for the same type of activity for which women receive smaller loans (i.e. an agricultural loan disbursed to a man is higher than the same type of loan disbursed to a woman). It is assumed by MFIs and confirmed by male clients, while expressing their needs, that men run more dynamically developing businesses, and are accepting exposure to bigger risk, thus need higher loan amounts. Female businesses are considered to grow slower, as women do not reinvest their profits; they rather allocate part of their income to covering household expenditures: utilities, food, children education.

  • Across the board MFIs participating in this research do not have gender policies that would guide their work with women clients. Internally, they rely on state laws that mandate non-discrimination, rather than promote women's rights or empowerment. The majority of interviewees view women empowerment agendas as discriminatory towards men and are not aware of gender mainstreaming.
  • Interviewing the female clients, they underlined the benefits the economic activity resulted in the increased sense of self worth, pride and independence. In many cases it provided financial independence, and brought them recognition within their families and local communities. However, women are at breaking point, as a woman having her own business also lacks time for herself, her children and the family in general, which is not widely recognized. No time for vacation, less attention paid to health and accumulating stress are downsides of running a business.
  • The further interviews with male and female clients revealed the major differences in the two groups’ expectations towards the service. The female clients do not express the need for different product type. What matters for them, is the service they receive. First of all, they value a lot the close relationship with Loan Officer. They perceive the Loan Officer as an advisor: they want to trust MFI’s employee that the product choice offered would be appropriate for their needs and capacities. They also appreciate any kind of business advice provided by MFI. In opposite, male clients expect fast service and professional information about product offer. They prefer to control their choices themselves, and limit the time spent on applying for a loan to minimum.

This shows the two totally different needs of men and women. The MFIs, not having understood the clients’ needs, tend to cost optimalization and processes effectiveness. In such a case, female clients, who request more time spent with them by Loan Officer to address their needs, are less profitable to MFIs, thus tend to be excluded.
At the same time, the perception of women well being has changed since the end of the war. Initially widows, and single mothers, whose husbands were forced to go abroad in order to earn more there, due to undertaking their business activities improved their economic situation significantly. These days MFIs perceive them as quite well off, in opposite to men, who did not manage to develop and are concerned now as a group exposed to poverty. Thus, majority of MFIs in Bosnia open up for increasing the number of male clients.
To sum up, female microentrepreneurs in Bosnia benefited a lot from developing their own businesses and using the services provided by MFIs, both in terms of economical improvement and empowerment. However,  they are at the point where lack of balances in their lives is sever: overloaded with business and family responsibilities, they hardly tackle the challenges.
Despite they are perceived as more reliable clients, female clients’ needs require more resources from MFIs, if recognized at all.

The data show MFIs more and more exclude women in favor for male clients.

Facebook