Microfinance Clients Facing the COVID-19 Crisis: From Findings to Action for MFIs

From the very beginning of the crisis, actors in the inclusive finance sector felt the need to understand MFI clients' situation, asking questions such as: Which client segments are most affected? How are they coping with the situation? What are they doing to adapt to the crisis? What are the solutions that MFIs could provide to better support them?

To address this need, the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) launched a sector-wide initiative to implement MFI client surveys. ADA encouraged its partner MFIs and MFI networks to contribute to this initiative and helped launch surveys in seven countries in 2020: Bhutan, Myanmar, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Cape Verde and El Salvador. These surveys were intended not only to collect information but also to inform and act. This publication presents the main results of these surveys as well as the concrete measures taken by MFIs to meet the needs expressed by their clients.