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Going to the Barricades for Microsavings Mobilization: A View of the Real Costs from the Trenches


This paper discusses the feasibility of offering microsavings products by microfinance institutions. The author quotes from a preliminary investigation of the savings structure of 85 credit unions in Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador, Romania and the Philippines in 2001 and states that of the 2.4 million savers, 94 percent of had a savings balance of only US$ 33, way below the US$ 500 figure used by many researchers. The author opines that: * The feasibility of microsavings mobilization rests on two fundamental variables: operating costs and savings volume. * An indisputable linkage exists between operating efficiency and the economies of scale of volume. * The only way microsavings services can be offered in a cost-effective way is by capturing the needed volume from other "wealthier" niches of the marketplace.

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