Technical Assistance Delivery to Small Business Banks and MFIs

This post is also available in: Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

INTRODUCTION

In developing countries, a growing number of local banks and MFIs are providing financial services to micro and small businesses as well as lower-income households in an effort to penetrate vast unbanked and underserved customer segments profitably. Access to finance allows these small enterprises to grow, creating jobs and alleviating poverty. The lending capacity, scale and efficiency of the banks and MFIs targeting underserved markets can often be greatly enhanced with access to local, regional and international businesses services and expertise. Many public and private agencies are thus committed to helping these financial institutions increase the depth and breadth of their offering, because of the high potential for a sustainable development impact on lower income populations.

This paper is about “TA that Works”. It focuses on our finding about how to deliver business and knowledge services successfully and cost-efficiently to financial institutions serving small and micro-entrepreneurs.

‘TA that Works’ is intended to both stimulate conversation about our preliminary findings as well as offer practical guidance to help both experienced and relatively new service providers think differently as they seek to assist financial institutions increase their scale, profitability and development impact on a cost-effective basis. It is by no means comprehensive. In addition, this paper is not intended to address the issue of building or strengthening the domestic marketplace for local technical support services providers.