QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS (MFI)

VOLUNTARY

Respondent .......................... Position ....................... Organization ...................... Date ........................

MANDATORY

Municipality/Town.. Province .

Please answer the following questions by putting an (x) in the appropriate block(s) Who are your customers? Do you specifically target any of the following group of clients?

Only women Only men Both Small businesses Larger businesses Both Only employed individuals Only unemployed individuals Both Other
Which of the following geographic location do you target? (Tick only one)

Rural Urban Both rural and urban

How do your customers hear about you? Do they: (Tick more than one if applicable)

Walk in Come through references Repeat clients Internet/website Other

How do you market/advertise your business? (Tick more than one if applicable)

Word of mouth Door to door Internet/ websites Leaflets/brochures Phone, email, fax Other
Indicate in which income group the majority of your clients fall in (monthly). (Tick only one)

R4 000 and more per household R3 000-R3 999 per household R2 000-R2 999 per household R1 000-1 999 per household Below R1 000 per household

Which products/services do you offer? (Tick more than one if applicable)

Insurance: Burial/Life scheme Insurance: Property/Short Term Insurance: Medical/Health Credit Loans/Business loans (> 6 months) Credit: Consumption (< 6 months) Housing Finance Savings Plan Other services/ products:
Please specify.. Which province(s) do you operate in? (Tick more than one if applicable)

Gauteng Eastern Cape Northern Cape Western Cape KwaZulu-Natal Mpumalanga North West Province Limpopo Free State
Do you monitor the impact of your microfinance activities on your clients?

Yes No
If YES, which of the following measures of impact do you use? (Tick more than one if applicable)

Savings by clients Growth of their business Employment generation Number of micro-enterprises in our portfolio Other measures
please specify ........................................ What is the typical education level of your clients? (Tick only one)

Lower than Standard 8 / Grade 10 Standard 8 / Grade 10 Matric / Grade 12 Post Matric / University Degree or Higher

Category 1: Client Base To what extent would you agree that the following issues create a problem in growing your organization?
Fully disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Fully agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Client retention (clients that we serve, do not return) Customer service (clients complain about our service) Clients are uneducated about financial services We lack important information about our clients Loan default (clients never re-pay their loans) Education level of clients is low Language barrier makes communication with our clients (verbal and written) difficult Unreliable infrastructure (e.g. transport, tele-communication) makes it difficult for our clients to reach us Late payments Clients are not informed about consumer protection Geographic factors make it difficult to communicate with clients Education level makes it difficult to communicate with clients Clients are uneducated about debt management

9 10 11 12 13

Category 2: Microfinance Institution For what period has the business been operational? (Financial Sector experience)

less than 1 year 1 to 3 years 3 to 5 years 5 years or more

What is the number of staff employed?

less than 10 10 to 20 20 to 30 30 and more

In the past 12 months, how was your staff turnover?

High (50% & more) Moderate (40%-20%) Low (10% & less)
Please indicate the education level of your microfinance MANAGEMENT staff?

Most have Standard 8 / Grade 10 Most have Matric / Grade 12 Most have University Degree Most have Microfinance Training/Experience
To what extent would you agree that the following issues create a problem in growing your organization?
Fully disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Fully agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

High operational costs Lack of access to funding Theft by staff The business struggles to cover costs Loan Collection Method leads to delayed repayments Scarcity of skilled staff The business struggles to diversify products The business struggles from low profitability Fraud is a problem in our business

Category 3: The Industry (External Environment)

To what extent would you agree that the following issues create a problem in growing your organization?
Fully disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Fully agree

Increased competition with other MFIs threaten the survival of my business Legislation and regulatory frameworks( e.g. the National Credit Act) puts a constraint on my business Low population density makes it difficult to reach clients in rural areas Increased competition from commercial banks threaten the survival of my business

Thank you very much for your time and the valuable information that you provided about your organization. Are there questions that you think we forgot to ask or any other information/problems that you would like to share that you think is important for your organization? Other problems (please specify) 1 . .. 2 .. .. 3 ..