Mapping innovations in the

microfinance supply and value chains

Arvind Ashta
Banque Populiare Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business
Brain Storming session
Microfinance Sandwich writers Club meetings (April 7-9, 2015), Dijon , France

Participants included Hayyan Alia, Djamchid Assadi, Laurence Attuel-Mendes, Maaouia Ben Nasr, Guillaume Biot-Pacquerot, Mihaela
Bonescu, Cornelia Caseau, Mathieu-Claude Chaboud, Frank Lentz
Thanks to Michael Knaute for suggesting the topic

Research Methodology
The first two figures (1 & 2) were presented to researchers along with two other ideas for mapping (in all cases,
the researchers discarded the other ideas as not being academically sound and so I ignore them here).
on April 7: Brainstorming with Laurence Attuel-Mendes and Guilaume Biot-Paquerot
This resulted in the Figure 3 focusing on the supply chain.

The first three figures (1,2 and 3) were then presented to researchers
on April 8: Brainstorming with Mihaela Bonescu and Mathieu-Claude Chaboud
This resulted in Figure 4. The focus still remained on the supply chain

The four figures were then presented to the other researchers

On April 9: Hayyan Alia, Djamchid Assadi, Maaouia Ben Nasr, Cornelia Caseau, Frank Lentz
They preferred the value chain. This resulted in Figure 5.

These are finally put these together in Figures 6 and 7.

Arvind Ashta

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business

Figure 1: Overall picture of the Microfinance

Supply Chain
Financing
Financial
Institutions
Banks
Large Donors
Investors
Crowd
Government

Arvind Ashta

Service
Providers
MFIs
MNOs

Products
Credit
Savings
Insurance
Guarantees
Payments

Distribution
Channels
Agents
Groups
ATMs
Mobile
Internet

The Excluded
Poor
Women
Tribal
Rural

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business

Figure 2: Mapping innovations in the

microfinance supply and value chains

Hire purchase
with mobile
payments

Savings circles,
online ROSCAs
SMS based
microsavings

Fis/
investors

Specific
credits
for
airtime,

Agent
Performance
Tools
On
demand
loans

MFIs

Agent
Recruitment
and training

Groups

Infrastructure -

Credit

Human Resource -

Banks

NFC

Reducing
work for
agents
through
mobiles,
credit cards

Technology -

Agents

Savings
Cloud computing for MIS, Big data Analytics using data from
intranet and mobile

Procurement - Crowdfunding adds to traditional financers

Correspondents

Poor
Women

Donors

Inbound
Logistics

Operations

Outbound
Logistics

Marketing
& Sales

Mobile

Service

Insuran
ce

Governm
ent

Tribals

ATM

Rural

Payme
nts
Internet

Retail
Crowdfunding

Branchless
operations

Arvind Ashta
Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance
of the Burgundy School of Business

Data
analytics
credit
scoring
reduce
risk

Biometrics (thumb prints,

voice, face match) for
verification, electronic
data capture

Mobile based
microinsurace
Performance
Management
of sales force

Security

Linking
national ID

Aggregators , new
SIM design provide
interoperability

Mobilie
Payments for
water,
electricity

Financial
literacy
Collecting
data from the
clients

Crowdfunding

New credit
proudcts

Retail

Securitization

Data
analytics,
credit scoring

Cloud
Computing

Banks and
financial
institutions

Credit

Savings circles,
online ROSCAs
SMS based
microsavings

Savings

Public/
Government
Insurance

Agent
Performance
Tools

Agent
Recruitment
and training

Performance
Management
tools

M
A
R
K
E
T

Payments

Figure 3: Mapping innovations in the

Microfinance supply chain

Poor
Financial
literacy

Aggregators , new SIM

design provide
interoperability
Arvind Ashta, Laurence Attuel-Mendes
& Guillaume Biot-Pacquerot
Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance
of the Burgundy School of Business

Biometrics, security

Linking
national ID

Collecting
data from the
clients

Information
Figure 4: Mapping innovations in the
Microfinance supply chain
Arvind Ashta, Mathieu-Claude Chaboud, Mihaela Bonescu,
Laurence Attuel-Mendes & Guillaume Biot-Pacquerot
Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the
Burgundy School of Business

Money

Figure 5:
Mapping
innovations
in the
Microfinance
value chain

Human Resources
Agent
Performance
Tools

Performance
Management of
sales force

Agent
Recruitment
and training

Technology
Cloud Computing

NFC

Fundraising & Financing

Crowdfunding

Risk
evaluation

Back Office
operations

Credit scoring

Data
analytics

Distribution

Products
Mobilie Payments
for water,
electricity

Savings circles,
online ROSCAs
Hire purchase
with mobile
payments

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business

SMS based
microsavings

Specific
credits for
airtime,

On
demand
loans

Branchless
operations

Mobile based
microinsurace

Aggregators ,
new SIM design
provide
interoperability

100

Collection
Biometrics (thumb
prints, voice, face
match) for verification,
electronic data capture

SMS based
collection

Security

Collecting data
from the clients

Arvind Ashta,
Frank Lentz,
Djamchid Assadi,
Hayyan Alia,
Maaouia Ben
Nasr and Cornelia
Caseau

Figure 6: Mapping innovations in the Microfinance supply chain and value chain

ATM

Retail

Credit
Groups

Savings
Agents

Public

Poor
Insurance
Correspeond
ents

Corporates

Payments
Mobile

Arvind Ashta, Hayyan Alia, Djamchid Assadi, Laurence Attuel-Mendes, Maaouia Ben Nasr, Guillaume
Biot-Pacquerot, Mihaela Bonescu, Cornelia Caseau, Mathieu-Claude Chaboud, Frank Lentz

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business

Figure 7: Mapping
innovations in the
Microfinance
supply chain and
value chain

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business

Information

Flexi-credit
proudcts

Crowdfunding
Retail

M
a
r
k
e
t
p
l
a
c
e

Credit
Savings circles,
online ROSCAs

Banks and
financial
institutions

Agents

Savings
ATM

Securitization

Insurance

Public/
Government

Arvind Ashta, Hayyan Alia, Djamchid Assadi,

Laurence Attuel-Mendes, Maaouia Ben Nasr,
Guillaume Biot-Pacquerot, Mihaela Bonescu,
Cornelia Caseau, Mathieu-Claude Chaboud,
Frank Lentz

Poor

Loan officer

Mobile
Linking
national ID

Payments

Biometrics, security

Aggregators , new SIM design

provide interoperability

Money

Financial
literacy

Limitations of mapping the supply chain and

value chain
Please recognize that this is work in progress.
All the ideas of all the researchers could not be incorporated.
Uniting the two concepts (supply chain and value chain) will often result
in duplication in mapping as the innovation may impact, for example:
both the MFI and the channel.
The product and the channel
Arvind Ashta

Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business