Oasis Microfinance | MFIs in Cameroon

Gross Loan Portfolio USD, 2010: 1.1 million

Number of active borrowers 2010: 2,650

Average loan balance per borrower USD, 2010: 409.1

Deposits USD, 2010: 0.0

Assets USD, 2010: 1.2 million

Number of depositors 2010: 0

Mission:

Oasis Microfinance has a mission to alleviate poverty in English speaking Cameroon through the provision of innovative and highly valued financial products to micro entrepreneurs, low - income earners, self - employed who are marginalised by mainstream financial actors. In realising this ... Read more

Background and Main Challenges:

OASIS Microfinance came into existence in 2003 to assist the poor in providing financial solutions that are tailored to their individual needs.

Today its main challenges are access to low cost debt finance to meet up with its rapidly expanding loan portfolio, grants for institutional ... Read more

Address:

Suite o6, Fakoship Plaza

BUEA

SWP

Cameroon

Phone:

+ (237) 33 09 38 52

Email:

oasisfinance [at] yahoo [dot] com

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Loans

Savings

Shareholder Capital

Products and Services:

Loans

Voluntary Savings

Products:

loans
voluntary savings
Funds transfer services

Looking for (Investment Types):

Loans in Local Currency

Donations

Guarantees

Capacity Building Grants

Equity investments

Loans in US$

% Operations Comprised by MF:

91-100

Date established:

Jan 1 2003

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NBFI

Regulated:

yes

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
Women	1
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
Employment generation	1
Poverty reduction	1
Increased access to financial services	1
+ Poverty targets
Very poor clients
Poor clients
Low income clients
+ Governance
Has trained members of its board on social performance management
Has a formal board committee that monitors social performance
+ Range of products and services
+ Financial products and services offered
+ Credit products offered
Microcredit loans for microenterprises
SME loans
+ Savings products offered
+ Compulsory insurance products required
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Business development services
+ Education services offered
+ Health services offered
+ Women's empowerment services offered
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:
+ Social responsibility to clients
+ Client protection principles in use
The loan approval process requires evaluation of borrower repayment capacity and loan affordability. Loan approval does not rely solely on guarantees (whether peer guarantees, co-signers or collateral) as a substitute for good capacity analysis.
Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized re-financing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
Productivity targets and incentive systems value portfolio quality at least as highly as other factors, such as disbursement or customer growth. Growth is rewarded only if portfolio quality is high.
Prices, terms and conditions of all financial products are fully disclosed to the customer prior to sale, including interest charges, insurance premiums, minimum balances, all fees, penalties, linked products, third party fees, and whether these can change over time.
Staff is trained to communicate effectively with all customers, ensuring that they understand the product, the terms of the contract, their rights and obligations. Communications techniques address literacy limitations (e.g. reading contracts out loud, materials in local languages).
Acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of staff rules or debt collection manual.
The organization's corporate culture values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
A mechanism to handle customer complaints is in place, has dedicated staff resources, and is actively used. (Suggestion boxes alone are generally not considered adequate.)
Customers know how their information will be used. Staff explains how data will be used and seeks permission for use.
+ Cost of services to clients
Flat interest method
+ Social responsibility to staff
+ Human resources
Transparency on salary (a clear salary scale based upon market salaries)
Benefits (medical insurance, pension contribution)
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
Ability to attract new clients from target market
Outreach to remote/rural communities
Outreach to women
Quality of interaction with clients based on client feedback mechanisms
Quality of social data collected
Client retention/drop-out rate
Portfolio quality
+ Social responsibility to the environment
This institution identifies enterprises with environmental risk
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Per capita household income
Housing index
Participatory wealth ranking (PWR)
Means test

Related Organizations

Current
Name	Relationship
Smart Campaign	Endorsement

MFI Report

Select i

Social Performance Profile

Related Organizations

At a glance

Contacts

MIX Market Data Updates

Share this Profile

Global Partners