tanzania sanitation microfinance (2013-2014): overview of research activities
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given by Sophie Trémolet and George Mugweru. It details the activities that will be carried out during the action-research: the selection of partners, the training that will be provided, the pilot-testing phase, and the meetings of the sanitation microfinance working group.TRANSCRIPT
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DEVELOPING SANITATION MICROFINANCE IN TANZANIA
PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND ORGANISATION
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Approach to the project
A collaborative “action-research” project to: Stimulate the interest of existing
financial institutions so that they start offering tailored microfinance products for sanitation
Strengthen the capacity of NGOs already offering sanitation microfinance
Develop, test and disseminate lessons on sanitation microfinance, generated through the project and via further ongoing activities if there is up-take
Underlying assumptions
Sanitation microfinance products need to respond to a clearly identified demand
Developing suitable sanitation microfinance products requires specific skills and management systems
Rolling out sanitation microfinance requires main actors (government, support organisations, donors, MFIs, banks, NGOs) to incorporate these products into a sector improvement strategy
Context-specific aspects need to be taken into account, e.g.: Developments in the housing finance sector (where microfinance is
also provided for non-income generating activities) Local dynamics might impact capacity to take on loans (such as
landlord-tenant relationships)
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Building on the local context
Take advantage of the momentum generated by the launch the NSC – but how?
Seek opportunities to embed sanitation microfinance in wider financing programmes, e.g. housing finance, which is growing To make it more attractive: “Toilet loans” alone may not
be attractive To avoid situation where toilets look nicer/ sturdier than
house itself But this means regulation/enforcement so that houses
are effectively built with facilities – again, how? Discussion for the Working Group
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Project Activities – Stage 1
Stage 1: preparation of pilot projects (Dec 2013 to Feb-2014)
Establish a sanitation microfinance working group with interested stakeholders
Select local partners to develop and pilot-test sanitation financial products, combining micro-credit with micro-saving as appropriate depending on the local population’s needs
Deliver training on qualitative market research (both an in class and field work based) to local partners to improve their capacity to conduct market research and develop microfinance products aimed at financing sanitation facilities and/or services
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Project Activities – Stage 2
Stage 2: Implement pilot projects (Mar-August 2014)
Local partners will carry out small scale qualitative market research to assess sanitation and hygiene financing needs in selected/targeted area
Local partners will develop suitable sanitation financial products, for households or small-scale providers
Research team will provide on-demand support to partners at all stages of the implementation process, to help them address specific issues
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Activities – Stage 3
Stage 3: extracting lessons learned (Sept-Nov 2014)
Research partners will evaluate the performance of each pilot project and the impact of facilitating access to finance on increasing access to sanitation and hygiene services
Consolidate the knowledge and lessons generated from the research activities undertaken during this project with outputs of previous research in an overall publication to disseminate lessons: report / journal article
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Activity schedule
Key dates: • Application forms to be submitted by 16th December 2013 • Identification of research partners by end December 2013• Hands-on training programme delivered between 27th January
and mid February • Working group meeting to share intermediary lessons in April
2014• Final WG meeting for overall reflections in November 2014 (at the
latest)
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Working group – proposed set-up Inspired from the Housing Microfinance group in Tanzania Membership: all institutions interested in how sanitation
microfinance can be used to deliver sustainable services – chair to be elected from members, simple TORS will be circulated for approval
Specific objectives Gather stakeholders who might not otherwise meet (e.g. banks
and NGOs) Exchange knowledge and experience on the development of
sanitation microfinance products in Tanzania and elsewhere Act as a focal point on sanitation microfinance in Tanzania for
external parties (e.g. donors, funders, researchers, etc.) Periodicity of meetings
Minimum 3 meetings during project duration (including today’s meeting)
Frequency could be increased if there is demand The aspiration is that the WG continues beyond the project: the
sanitation microfinance market will not emerge in 11 months!!
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Working group – key issues
Are some stakeholders interested in hosting working group sessions (hold meetings in different premises each time?)
Do we need: Rules on handling commercially-confidential
information? Rules on sharing results and findings from the
research? Methods of communication:
Simple email exchanges with dropbox folder? Social media: Facebook or Linked-in group? Simple website? If so: self-standing website or as part
of an existing website? Who could manage it?
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Selected research partners
Up to 4 selected financial institutions (MFIs, banks or NGOs) will be action research partners Active in urban or rural sanitation, products targeting
households or small businesses, with prior experience in either sanitation, microfinance, or both
Local partners will be provided with technical assistance for:
Training on market research and product development tailored to the sanitation markets
On-call support for product marketing and roll-out Performance monitoring on product penetration and impacts
Local partners will be expected to contribute: Up to two specialised staff to take part in training, prepare market
assessment and product development report for their institution and take on the subsequent rolling-out of designed products
Travel and accommodation costs during training Capital for lending schemes
If the last two are an issue, co-funding opportunities can be explored
Market Research for MicrofinanceCourse Outline
Day 1-3 Overview of Product Development and Market Research (Classroom-Based Course)
• Overview of Product Development and Market Research• Background to Market Research for Microfinance
Institutions• Product Development Cycle• Introduction to Market Research • Focus Group Discussions• Group Moderation• Analyzing and Presenting FGD Results• Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA)• Analyzing PRA Results
Days 4-10 FGDs and PRA exercises and Analysis (Field Days)Day 11 Concept/Prototype DevelopmentDay 12 Prototype Testing, Pilot-Testing and Planning
Product Development Process
• One institution is expected to be the ‘host’ [we will need volunteers]
• During training field days, participants will conduct a research for host institution
• The participants with the assistance of MicroSave will develop a need assessment report and product concept for the institution
• MicroSave will provide technical support to selected institutions: • Implement research plan • Produce individual reports and concepts• Refine and test the concepts to product prototypes• Testing the prototypes• Roll out the products
Every institution is then expected to develop a research
plan that include research issue, objectives and research methods
at the end of the training as a take home
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Approach to partner selection
Application form to facilitate selection Size of the organisation, lending portfolio, prior experience in
microfinance, reasons for requesting training
Demonstrate commitment: For the training: ability to mobilise staff and days to develop
“product concepts” After training, selection of 2 institutions to turn these
concepts into prototypes for pilot testing based on “readiness” to move to implementation
Other institutions having participated to the training will receive on-call support
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In summary: project outputs
Sanitation Microfinance WG: Terms of Reference, collation of relevant background documents, communication tool
Market research report for each of the local research partners (i.e. MFI, commercial bank or NGO)
Evaluation reports of the pilot projects for each of the local research partners
An overall report extracting lessons learned from this project and previous microfinance research work which could later be turned into a journal article if deemed appropriate.
