Social Impact Assessment of Microfinance Programmes - weman

Client Profile
Most of the women in the area were engaged in some type of income generating activity.
Seven women participated in the discussion. Five were contributing in the family income.
Two were hired as domestic help, one was a home-based seamstress, one had a corner
shop, and one assisted in the family scrap business. Four women were illiterate and three
had attended primary school.
People lived in joint families with multiple incomes, whereby two or more family
members contributed. Household incomes ranged from Rs. 4,000 to 10,000 a month.
All group members had taken successive loans from UPAP at least 4 times. Women in
the group discussion said that their initial loan amount was Rs. 8,000 and then two
successive amounts of Rs. 13,000 each. Now some of them had received Rs. 17,000 in
their fourth cycle. Credit was given only for productive activities and the UPAP team
closely monitored the utilization of the credit amount.
People in the area, especially women, had no dealings with the banks or any other formal
financial institutions/programmes. Financial matters were dealt with directly and through
informal means. Personal loans was the most common method for meeting urgent needs.
In case of emergencies or life cycle events people borrowed from close relatives or
friends. Moneylenders were seldom approached due to their exorbitant interest rates.
Women in the group said that they had never visited a bank and had no idea about how
they worked. But they had heard that bank loans were very difficult to get and their
interest rates were also high. Easy accessibility to UPAP services was a major incentive
for its clients.
Group participants mentioned that in 2006 another microcredit programme had also
approached them, but they did not have any other details regarding it.
There was a common trend of savings even prior to the UPAP interventions. Women kept
small amounts aside safely with them, which according to them, helped them out in times
of need. Committees were another common way of saving and people planned certain
activities around the time of their Committee turn.
Clients’ Feedback
UPAP clients were appreciative of the programme and generally approved of the
programme procedures. People, specifically, women found community based services
much more accessible and said that the only time they had to go outside their localities
was once when they had to cash their checks at the Habib Bank, Murree Road in
Rawalpindi and then for monthly recovery amounts, deposited at the UPAP Bari Imam
office. The monthly instalments were collected by one member and than deposited
together at the designated office. However, the women did not seem to mind these
monthly trips.
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