Clients of Microcredit Organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Report on Baseline Survey

This report documents the impacts of a sustainable microfinance sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It describes the initial results from a long-term evaluation of the impacts of LIP I and II on the entrepreneurs who receive program services and on their microenterprises.

The evaluation assesses whether microcredit:

• Reaches the target populations;
• Improves the household welfare of borrowers;
• Promotes business development;
• Eases post-conflict transition.

The report discusses:

• The background for the study, the LIP and the microfinance institutions (MFIs) participating in the study;
• Information on the survey respondents, such as the types and the number of respondents and their distribution across regions and MFIs;
• The credit histories of those respondents who are clients of MFI programs.

The research finds that:

• MFIs are reaching their target populations of economically active, low-income entrepreneurs who have little access to bank credit;
• They are also reaching a substantial number of women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who have been adversely affected by the war;
• MFI clients rely heavily on income from microenterprises to support their households;
• There is a shift in client base towards a greater balance between microenterprises in the trade, services and livestock sectors.

The paper concludes by listing the limitations of the study and suggesting interesting areas that need to be explored in future studies.