Breaking Through Barriers to Growth: Expanding the Scope and Scale of Credit with Education in Two Regions - Mid-term Evaluation
This document evaluates Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education (CwE), a methodology that delivers technical support to microfinance providers in developing countries for the sustainable integration of microfinance and life-skills training services for very poor women.
The current five-year Matching Grant (MG) program entitled Breaking Through Barriers to Growth: Expanding the Scope and Scale of Credit with Education in Two Regions, seeks to expand the quality and reach of integrated microfinance and life-skills training services in the Philippines and West Africa. The program accomplishes this through technical assistance on systems and new financial and education product development. The mid-term evaluation revealed that:
- Program achieved 72% of its stated targets for the first half;
- Results differed dramatically by region, with West Africa experiencing a decline from the baseline of 104,000 clients to 79,000, while the Philippines saw an increase from 12,000 to 80,000 CwE clients.
The mid-term evaluation focused on understanding the key to the rapid growth of CwE in the Philippines and the main challenges faced by the credit union networks in West Africa. It proposes recommendations to strengthen and replicate successful efforts, and address critical challenges in both regions.
