Lendahand
Lendahand would like to better understand and measure the effectiveness of the loans provided to small and medium enterprises for lendahand.com, and the Lendahand foundation would like to better understand and measure the effectiveness of the training programs. The project will consist of building a measurement tool for the impact of the loans and trainings provided by Lendahand.
In high-income countries small and medium enterprises (SMEs) provide 60% of the jobs. In emerging countries, like the Philippines, Colombia and Ghana, they only account for 30% of the jobs (source: Worldbank). The best reinforcement for any economy is a strong middle class. All the more so in emerging countries should SMEs contribute to economic growth. If employment grows, poverty reduces. Eventually health care and education will improve.
The problem lies in the fact that SMEs in emerging countries often do not have access to (affordable) financing. That is why this sector is referred to as the ‘missing middle’. Both banks and microfinance institutions do not cater to them. Banks are equipped to serve larger companies only. They have demands that smaller companies cannot adhere to. Microfinance institutions, on the other hand, deem SMEs too complex.
project objectives
Set of tool(s) to measure social impact of the loans provided.
Set of tool(s) to measure and understand the effectiveness of the trainings provided by Lendahand foundation.
Design and conduct market research (Cambodia) with the purpose of distinguishing the best way to measure the impact of the loans and the trainings provided provided by Lendahand. In the summer, the AFD students would go for a minimum of six weeks to eight weeks on site, during which they implement their research findings.
About the project
To better understand and measure the effectiveness of their training programs and of the loans Lendahand provides, the project students created a measurement tool. During the preparation phase, a lot of research was done in cooperation with the local partner to be fully prepared before going to project country. Creating the measurement tool in the implementation phase was possible for the project students after they conducted market research in Cambodia.
With the outcome of this project Lendahand has a broader view on the results of their activities and progress.
