MICROFINANCE AT FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF PAKISTAN (B)

Abstract

This case deals with the issue of microfinance. It focuses on the nature of such financing, and predominantly on the issue of the credit policies needed to sustain a microfinance programme. The Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) had initiated a poverty alleviation programme involving the disbursement of small loans intended to assist the very poor. The primary purpose of such loans was to generate self-employment and improve the capacity to save. Microfinance, by definition, becomes a much more complex form of lending, given the absence of conventional instruments of evaluating lending opportunities. This case highlights the difficulties involved by focusing on both the macro and the micro issues of such lending. The case can be taught in Financial Analysis, Commercial Banking and Commercial Credit.