Shakti Foundation for Disadvanatged Women

Gross Loan Portfolio USD, 2010: 37.7 million

Number of active borrowers 2010: 430,942

Average loan balance per borrower USD, 2010: 87.4

Deposits USD, 2010: 16.5 million

Assets USD, 2010: 47.9 million

Number of depositors 2010: 455,459

Mission:

To advance the social and economic empowerment of poor women by creating strong economic and social resource bases

Objectives:
• Economic empowerment of poor women through creation of their capital and resource base.
• Social empowerment of women through leadership and ... Read more

Address:

House-44 Road-2/A Dhanmondi R/A

Dhaka

1209

Bangladesh

Phone:

+880 2 967 6951/2

Fax:

+880 2 861 6388

Email:

info [at] sfdw [dot] org

Website:

www.sfdw.org

Products and Services:

Loans

Insurance

Leasing

Services Provided:

Business Development Services

Health

Other

% Operations Comprised by MF:

91 - 100

Date established:

Apr 1 1992

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NGO

Regulated:

yes

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
+ Poverty targets
+ 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
Microcredit for household needs/consumption
Loans for agriculture
Housing loans
Leasing loan, Durjokalin loan, Health loan to clients without interest
+ Savings products offered
Voluntary savings accounts
Compulsory savings accounts (cash collateral)
+ Compulsory insurance products required
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
Remittances services
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Business development services
+ Education services offered
+ Health services offered
Basic medical services
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Counseling/legal services for female victims of violence
+ 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
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
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
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Housing index
Participatory wealth ranking (PWR)
Means test
Food security index
Own proxy poverty index