ASA’s Culture, Competition and Choice: Introducing Savings Services into a MicroCredit Institution

• by Graham Wright, Imran Khan and Robert Christen
• Jul 1, 2001
• 1 min
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This document highlights Association for Social Advancement (ASA), Bangladesh’s provision of financial services to 1.5 million poor people.

This document highlights Association for Social Advancement (ASA), Bangladesh’s provision of financial services to 1.5 million poor people. This study summarises the dynamics of institutional change within the organisation during its transformation from a micro-credit to a microfinance institution. It analyses ASA’s decision to introduce open access savings services when most of the other large micro-credit institutions in Bangladesh were unwilling to do so. The study briefly discusses the changes in fund management, information systems, internal control, staffs work pattern and the clients’ attitude towards the institution and the products it offers. It outlines different types of accounts and their results and explores the financial implications of savings mobilisation. The study lays emphasis on the fact that the experience of ASA provides important lessons for micro-credit institutions seeking to follow its lead in order to introduce savings services.