Sustainable Microfinance - Balanced Scorecard's added value for ...

Keywords and Abstract
Sustainable Microfinance
‘Balanced Scorecard’s added value for Starting Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands’
Keywords and phrases in this Thesis
Elmar Hoogendoorn
TiasNimbas Business School
September 2010
Microfinance, Balanced Scorecard, Sustainability, Micro and Small Entrepreneurs
Abstract
Micro-credit and microfinance are rather new phenomena in the Netherlands. In a
short period both have been embraced fully by government officials as a valuable
instrument for social and economic development. The overall aim of this research is
to make a contribution to the existing body of literature and to develop a practical
model that will enable (one of) the Dutch microfinance players to make a move
towards sustainability. Therefore an explorative research has been established.
This exploratory inductive research consists of: (1) an intensive literature review and
(2) interviews with experts from the microfinance sector, to determine how the
available models need to be adjusted to the specific needs of starting entrepreneurs.
Based on the qualitative content analysis in relation to the literature it is concluded
that due to managerial inadequacy and a significant degree of copying behaviour,
typical start up businesses have high failure rates within the first three to five years.
Therefore government officials should eliminate incentives to create low probability
companies and focus on start up companies with a lot of (growth) potential. In order
to indentify this potential and provide micro entrepreneurs with a tool to develop a
sustainable business, the ‘Equally’ Balanced Scorecard Model for Micro and Small
Entrepreneurs (MSE) has been developed. This model focuses on four interrelated
stakeholders (society, investor, customer and entrepreneur) and clearly indicates the
relation between them and enables the MSE to identify the stakeholder it needs to
focus on.
Elmar Hoogendoorn ###!
Sustainable Microfinance