Towards a General Framework for Client Monitoring within Microfinance Organisations

The paper states that good quality impact assessment enables organisations to identify specific issues and indicators that they should monitor more widely and routinely.

Drawing from Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, the paper provides an overview of possible components of a comprehensive client monitoring system, arguing that client monitoring can be regarded as similar to, and complementary with investment portfolio. Presenting a general framework for an integrated but flexible approach, the paper highlights two components of the client monitoring system:

• Classification of client portfolios;
• Systematic profiling of each client category.

The paper suggests that:

• Every microfinance organisation needs to review the mechanisms with which it monitors the status of different categories of clients, their perceptions of the services rendered and the impact on their lives and livelihoods.
• Microfinance organisations need to be proactive in collecting clients data.