Assessment of the Use and Impact of MicroSave's Market Research for Microfinance Toolkit

The briefing note assesses the MicroSave participatory market research toolkit. It states that the tools have:

• Been very effective in changing the thinking of MFIs and raising awareness of client needs, preferences, and opportunities;
• Contributed to the development of new and improved market oriented products and services;
• Impressive outreach as the training has involved international, regional, and national MFIs, networks and support organisations working both within and out side of Africa.

It hinges the success of the tool kit on:

• Excellent professional staff who conduct the training and mentor MFIs on how to use the tools as part of the product development process;
• Aggressive marketing and promotion of the tool kit;
• The relevance of the training to current interests in the microfinance industry.

It presents the content and process of the tools. Says the tools are well designed and easy to adapt to different settings and purposes. Thus, users can generate information that is credible and useful for improving products and services It concludes that the tool kit have had:

• A significant outreach to MFIs in East Africa and beyond;
• Positive impacts on MFI thinking about clients and market research, having led to the development of a wide range of new and improved products and services that have improved the competitive position of many MFIs.