Business Development Services for Female Microfinance Clients in Peru: A Randomised Impact Evaluation

This paper proposes a study to analyze the potential of complementing the financial services offered by village banks in Peru with business development services (BDS) to benefit female micro-entrepreneurs in marginal urban and rural areas. The paper:

• States that non-regulated MFIs provide credit to excluded populations in Peru, but the latter has no access to BDS training;
• Proposes the incorporation of BDS training into the MFIs (FINCA Peru) village banking framework.

The ten month long study that the paper outlines will:

• Assess the impact of combining microfinance with BDS services through a random assignment of banks to control and treatment groups;
• Explore the effect of the intervention on different measures of the sustainability of banks as well as on the growth of businesses and the welfare of clients;
• Measure changes at the individual, institutional and market levels to evaluate impact;
• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the intervention;
• Analyze the nature of microfinance clients demand for BDS.

The paper also provides details of:

• Study methodology and design;
• Data requirement and sources;
• Dissemination strategy;
• Project team.