Client Exit Surveys: A Tool for Understanding Client "Drop-Out"

The ability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to reach and to demonstrate a positive impact on their clients is increasingly recognised as a core principal in poverty-focussed microfinance, and there is a growing move toward lower-cost, practitioner-friendly approaches to impact assessment.

The author argues that drop-out clients provide a valuable source of information for programme improvement particularly regarding:

• The performance of the MFI in relation to client needs;
• The way MFIs relate to client livelihoods and external conditions.

The paper concludes that this information can also form a core part of impact understanding as it:

• Feeds into operational development;
• Leads to changes that better tailor the MFI's services to their target client needs;
• improves the overall impact of the MFI.