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17TH MICROCREDIT SUMMITGENERATION NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN MICROFINANCE

Cambodia Diaries Case Study

September 2014

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17TH MICROCREDIT SUMMITGENERATION NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN MICROFINANCE

Discover Unreported Patterns• “The Financial Diaries in Cambodia” study was completed in

May 2014 by Baruch College student Jeremy Sze (honors thesis), and advised by Michele Costello (Professor, Baruch College)

• Using surveys, interviews and financial diaries, the team documented household financial flows for ten typical rural households over 6 months to find unreported patterns

• Diary data is unique and cannot be easily replicated with surveys or focus groups

• Study was supported with the tools and resources of microfinanceopportunities.org

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17TH MICROCREDIT SUMMITGENERATION NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN MICROFINANCE

Case Study: Kaliyan, MFI Liaison• Kaliyan, 44, lives in a village near Phnom Pehn with her

husband, son, newborn baby, and mother• She makes a living making skirts on the loom, and buying

empty plastic bottles to sell, and receives small commissions as the MFI liaison in her community

• Her husband, the Village Chief Assistant, also works periodically as a cook and construction worker

• Her mother also works at home making cotton threads from cottonseeds

• Her son is studying Korean to obtain a factory job in Korea

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17TH MICROCREDIT SUMMITGENERATION NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN MICROFINANCE

She Relies on Savings and Loans• She is the household finance manager (typical for matriarchs in

this community)• The household has four loans from MFIs (one housing - repaid,

one for a loom – repaid , two for health expense for the baby - outstanding)

• Kaliyan plays tongtin, a form of auction ROSCA in her community, despite access to formal savings and loans

• She saves money at home and in the MFI where she is the liaison • Her household is cash flow negative during the study due to the

birth expenses, but she is able to draw on the savings

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17TH MICROCREDIT SUMMITGENERATION NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN MICROFINANCE

Case Discussion Questions• Female as household finance manager: what does it mean for

MFIs in terms of marketing and product design? • Is the female MFI liaison enhancing outreach to women in the

community? • Why use ROSCAs alongside the loans and savings she already

has?• Why is the MFI liaison still using informal sources of

financing? What does it say about functional and/or cultural barriers to current MFI product uptake?