Reaching the World's Richest and Poorest

Most of you know microfinance mainly as a buzz word that gets some media coverage every now and then-- basically the soup d’jour of the development field. The beauty of this “trend” however, is that it actually makes a difference in people’s lives. On top of that, it can succeed largely independent of donor funding and is relatively free of abuse by corrupt governments (all traits that lack in many other poverty reduction mechanisms).

Harnessing the international attention on microfinance is a major component of my job. Right now microfinance is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. With everyone from celebrities, to royalty, to western governments supporting microfinance, I’m trying to capture a bit of their attention and hopefully motivate people to take a more hands on role as investors, employees, volunteers, etc. Building up our website, interaction with media, monthly newsletters, and brochures are all critical to setting my NGO apart, in what is increasingly becoming a crowded space.

As important as it is to engage the world’s elite and attract them to microfinance, there is another audience that must not be forgotten—the customers. What microfinance institutions need to focus equally (or more) on is communicating to the poor, illiterate, extremely busy and hardworking women that drive their business.

With all of the money pouring into MFIs around the world, there is a lot of pressure to produce big results quickly. But in an effort to scale up rapidly, attention must be paid to ensuring that customers are moving along at the same speed. Offering products that meet the needs of the poor is only useful to them if they understand the benefits (and risks).

Which brings me to another major focus at work: communicating our products to our customers and staff. It’s challenging, but the pay off can be big—both personally and for the company. I’m getting to spend time working with incredible and inspiring entrepreuners to understand how they think and learn. If I’m able to effectively improve the way that we communicate our products to our customers, sales go up. That means more people helped and a step closer to sustainability for the company.

I’ve attached to this post a few photographs of customers that I’ve taken (mostly related to our health services). In future posts I’ll share some of their stories.