New Directions in Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluations in Microfinance (Presentation)

On September 10, 2009, USAID's Microenterprise Development office held its 34th Microfinance Innovations After Hours Seminar on the topic of "New Directions in Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluations in Microfinance." Geetha Nagarajan of the University of Maryland's IRIS Center moderated a panel discussion of innovative evaluation tools being developed for the industry. Michael Ferguson of Microfinance Opportunities presented the qualitative work of the Gates-funded financial diaries project among Opportunity International Bank of Malawi mobile-banking clients. Nigel Biggar of Grameen Foundation presented new developments with the Progress out of Poverty Index and how using the tool can allow institutions to know that they are reaching their poverty targets, to develop more suitable products for their clients, and to accomplish their social missions.