MFC undertakes quantitative and qualitative research studies in order to provide an insight into the drivers of customer behavior and market development We carry out enterprise and MFI surveys and research projects to deepen knowledge and understanding of the microcredit and SME finance market in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The results of our studies have been used to inform ...

We conduct studies to assess the need for credit, deposit and microinsurance services among clients and develop market development projections using the access frontier tool. Our work has encompassed: Demand for savings  The market for deposit services of microcredit-deposit organizations (MDO) in Tajikistan: The goal of this study, funded by GTZ, was to assess the market potential for savings services ...

Measuring Access to Finance: Developing evidence-based access policies According to the recently-published Global Findex data, 45% of adults in the ECA region have access to financial services, making it among global leaders in financial inclusion. However, performance within the region is mixed. Some countries (such as Slovenia) boast near universal access, while in others (such as Kyrgyzstan), less than 5% ...

We use surveys and in-depth interviews to explore issues around infrastructure, product availability, and legal/regulatory opportunities and constraints around the supply of financial services. Since 2002, MFC has conducted mapping studies to track the scale, outreach and performance of microfinance providers in ECA. Reports are available for the following years: 2010: Re-emerging from the Crisis – Microfinance in ECA 2009: ...

As part of a multi-component project funded by European Commission, MFC is developing and testing methodology of Access to Finance Barometer that will provide insights into the country-level access to finance issues and priorities in 10 EU countries. The purpose of the AFS Barometer is to assess the level of financial inclusion and conditions of access to finance in EU ...

This study examined the application of customer protection principles, access to financial services and the risk of over-indebtedness among low-income clients in Bosnia Herzegovina. The findings confirmed a high level of indebtedness and, in certain client segments, cross-borrowing and potential risk of over-indebtedness. The study found the interest in and use of financial services other than credit to be rather ...

The project was initiated and managed by the National Bank of Belarus in cooperation with other government agencies and funded by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). As part of this project, MFC developed Access to Finance Scorecard(AFS) to capture diverse aspects of access and usage into a comprehensive tool to measure inclusion. The framework equips national-level stakeholders with data to ...

Measuring Access to Finance: Developing Evidence-Based Access Policies Access to Finance Scorecard (AFS) framework captures diverse aspects of access and usage issues into one comprehensive tool that lends itself to measurement and interpretation that can inform policy making and regulation of financial services. The ‘balanced’ aspect of AFS lies in the fact that it takes into account not only the ...