Reaching the Hard to Reach: Comparative Study of Member-Owned Financial Institutions in Remote Rural Areas
June 2008
Interested in expanding financial services to remote-rural areas, the Ford Foundation Affinity Group on Development Finance commissioned the Coady International Institute and a global team of researchers to conduct a study on member-owned financial institutions (MOIs). A key assumption for the study was that member-owned institutions offer distinct advantages for remote rural outreach.
The study involved several facets and spanned three years. First, a literature review was conducted on MOIs that provided primarily credit and savings services in Africa, Asia and Latin America, particularly in markets "unserved" by other financial institutions. Based on the literature review and identified gaps, a framework for the study was organized with two levels of analysis.
At the first level, seven case studies were selected in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cases were selected to illustrate different types of member-owned institutions that have demonstrated strong outreach in remote-rural populations. The analysis focused on the demand and interests of the most decentralized groups and members. The second level of analysis focused on how remote outreach was influenced by the three key drivers of outreach: governance; networking and linkages; regulation and supervision. Finally, a synthesis report brought all of the key findings together in one document.
