SNHU Academic Archive - Southern New Hampshire University

households economic resources an d activities, position within the communities, and the context sin whic h the y liv e an d work . Thes e difference s hav e implication s for financia l cycle s an dstrategies and the need for different financia l products and services.Imran Matin , Davi d Hulm e and Stuar t Rutherfor d (date ) state d tha t th e deman d fo rfinancial service s fro m poo r households call s for shor t an d lon g term credi t lines for financinginputs an d investmen t i n bot h physica l an d huma n capital , an d fo r provisio n o f saving sopportunities wit h differen t reward s an d maturities . I n general , th e poore r th e household , th egreater th e nee d t o us e saving s an d credi t a s insuranc e substitutes . Thu s th e contributio n offinancial service s to coping with risks (the 'protective ' role of financial services ) becomes mor eimportant tha n th e expecte d retur n o f the financia l service s alon e (th e 'promotional ' role o ffinancial services )BSP Gov. A . Tetangco (September, 2005 ) concluded that as long as there remains nearly40% o f our populatio n living i n poverty, there i s a n urgen t nee d fo r microfinanc e to providethem wit h opportunitie s t o increas e thei r economi c activity , foste r thei r spiri t o fentrepreneurship, facilitat e employmen t an d improv e th e qualit y o f thei r live s an d thei rcommunity.4. Community Needs Assessment4.1 Need s AssessmentIdentifying financial niches , clien t needs , an d marke t statu s ar e to p gear s t o mak eproducts competitiv e in the globa l market . Clien t satisfactio n i s a crucia l responsibilit y of theproducer t o captur e publi c interest . Th e cycl e o f repayment an d interes t rate s sustaine d th eproduct's lif e fo r MFI industries . Disappointingly, starvation s wer e on e of root causes of howpeople use d an d manage d thei r financial resource s wit h inadequat e skill s an d knowledge .Understanding clien t behavio r goe s beyon d simpl y lookin g a t ho w the y us e an d repa y thei rloans. I t requires a n awareness of the economi c goals of poor households, how people manageresources an d activities in the context of their household economic portfolios, and how they dealin thei r day to day lives. As a starting point, we can begin to se e how financial service s can (orcould), d o (or do not) fit into processes. Al l of these factors affect clients' immunity to summon7