Social Impact Assessment of Microfinance Programmes - weman

undertake thorough research which entails filling 16 forms on different aspects of the
area such as the number of bank accounts, phone connections, and health centres and so
on. The research team also talks to different prominent people in the area like the Nazim,
maulvis and midwives who have knowledge about the local area and population.
Once the area has been thoroughly researched a report is put together by the team and
sent for approval. If the branch is approved by the CEO and the funding partners, a
building near a main road is rented so that a bank and local transport are close. After that
a process of hiring staff is undertaken. The target market in the area is identified by
interviewing locals. This is important as it determines the products that will be marketed
in the area.
Till 2008 Asasah plans to keep focusing on expanding in the Punjab and plans to open a
total of 69 branches and then move on to other provinces. It has also identified potential
areas within the Punjab where new branches will be opened during 2007. Asasah plans to
open branches first at the district level, next at the tehsil level and finally at the sub-tehsil
level. Expansion in other provinces will be based on the market potential and the risk and
funding status. Asasah plans to reach 100,000 clients by the end of 2007 and 500,000 by
2011. For Asasah, growth is important as that is the only way it can achieve
sustainability.
3.1.5.4 Competition and Expansion strategy
Asasah started with an ambitious plan and has grown rapidly over the years. In the first
year it disbursed loans to almost 4,500 individuals which is higher than the average loans
given by other MFIs in their first year 4 . The main challenge for Asasah has always been,
and still is, funds, and in the initial years only commercial sources of funding were
available which were very expensive. For Asasah, donor funds would be the cheapest
option but relying on them will hamper expansion plans, therefore, commercial funds
from financial institutions have been borrowed. To ease the funding constraints, Asasah
should work to develop more relationships with donors like Deutsche Bank who have a
Microcredit Development Fund, which can give guarantee to commercial banks on their
behalf.
The initiatives Asasah plans to take for growth are to continue with its aggressive
marketing strategy through electronic and print media so that it can target a large number
of potential clients. Asasah has established 32 branches (list in Appendix) and this
network will be helpful in scaling up operations. Moreover, as clients successfully finish
the productive loan cycle they become eligible for specialized products, so operations
have been streamlined to ensure that before the loan cycle ends, applications for
specialized products are initiated to avoid customer attrition. Furthermore, Asasah plans
to train operational staff to be customer-oriented and ingrain a culture of customer
relationship management in them. It also plans to provide training on competitors so that
they can better attract customers.
4 Pakistan Microfinance Network, “Customized Performance Report: Asasah 2004”
11