Esperanza Management Memorandum - Updated

7/31/2019 Esperanza Management Memorandum - Updated

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--------------------------------------------------Memorandum--------------------------------------------------

To: Professor Dennis Shaughnessy

Re: Esperanza International

From: Northeastern University and Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo Field Study

ProgramDate: May 25th, 2012

Topic: An Assessment of Esperanzas Complimentary Services

Objectives

1. Determine whether associates have received value added services.

2. Identify differences between branch offices in program application and fulfillment.

3. Determine differences in knowledge and use of services based on time with Esperanza.

4. Learn the opinion of loan officers regarding need, feasibility, and implementation.

Methodology

The research was carried out over a period of seven days, May 15-18 and 22-24, and consisted of

interviews with 199 associates and 9 loan officers. The interviews were conducted by 61 students

from Northeastern University and INTEC organized in teams of 2-4 students, including aninterviewer, a translator, and a scribe. Most interviews were conducted with a single associate at

once, but some were conducted with multiple associates concurrently due to the specific

circumstances at the interview location. In both cases, the interviewers attempted to obtainindividual answers from all interviewees for all questions.

The survey consisted of 14 thematic questions centered around the four research objectives

originally specified by Esperanza, focusing on perception, delivery, and quality of services, aswell as differences in services between branch offices. The surveys also collected demographic

information to determine the length of time associates have been with Esperanza, the number of

loans taken, and basic business and household information. The surveys were created in thefollowing three-step process:

1. Initial draft of survey questions and topics from Esperanza;2. Focus group discussion to edit existing questions and add additional ones;

3. Final clearance and edits from Esperanza staff.

The team met frequently to discuss results, insights, and methodology. This daily communicationallowed team members to share experiences and fine-tune interviewing techniques, according to

the insights of others.


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Late Additions to the Survey

After some initial experiences working with the survey and Esperanza associates, it came to the

attention of the interviewers that some additional questions would be beneficial in data analysis

and could shed more light on the research objectives. The survey was altered to assess

borrowers access to cell phones in relation to communication with loan officers and thepotential to further incorporate technology. A poverty level scale question was also added in

order to judge the relative need for services within the community in line with Esperanzas

internal poverty rating system to see if plus services were more effective for varied povertylevels. The latter test would enable researchers to determine the penetration of Esperanza

services into the poorest communities of the Dominican Republic, a stated objective of the

organization.

Possible Limitations of Methodology

Within this study there were a number of challenges and limitations. They must be taken into

account when analyzing the data and results found.u ; lV

One of the biggest limitations to this study is the short period of time in which it was conductedand the lack of organization and communication prior to beginning the survey. There were

several details regarding the structure and delivery of the various complimentary services that

were unclear to the interviewing team. The survey pool consisted of associates and loan officers

with no information from service facilitators who would have undoubtedly brought a differentperspective to the research. This gap may have skewed the data in some way.

Another challenge faced was the language barrier between interviewers and Creole-speakingborrowers with limited Spanish fluency. Only two of the 61 interviewers were fluent in Creole so

researchers suspect that information could have been unintentionally lost in translation. In other

circumstances, the lack of a translator prohibited interviews with Haitian borrowers from taking

place at all, limiting the representation of Haitian Creole-speaking borrowers in the data sample.

Addressing personal topics, like pap smear results, proved to be difficult. Misconceptions about

the purpose and practice of a pap smear and the presence of other individuals in the room mayhave hindered the associates willingness to offer their thoughts, particularly for those whoreceived abnormal results. Similarly, the interviewing team questioned the legitimacy of asking

the dominantly female associates to delineate the likelihood that their male counterparts wouldutilize prostate exam services.

In addition, many associates responded to all or most questions with simple one-word answers in

the affirmative or negative, making it difficult to get meaningful qualitative data. This may havebeen caused by uneasiness on the part of the associate from being confronted with unexpected

foreign visitors. As a result, researchers tended to ask semi-leading questions in order illicit more

detailed responses.

Finally, the majority of the interviews were conducted in suburbs of Santo Domingo Norte, San

Pedro de Macoris, and other urban areas, limiting the amount of data collected from rural areas.


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This may skew the data to reflect the experiences of urban borrowers disproportionately to those

of rural borrowers, who tend to be the poorest of the poor.

Results

Objective 1

In order to determine which complimentary services were offered to associates and how thoseservices were being carried out, 199 respondents were asked to respond to a number of questions

regarding business training, literacy programs, vocational training, preventative health care, Pap

Smears, dental services, and Esperanza y Vida. The goal was also to determine how or whyassociates took part in each service, or why they were unable or unwilling to do so.

Business Training

Associates reported learning many things from business training, of which separating personaland business accounts was the most reported. Respondents also commonly responded that

customer service, product adjustments, expansion of business and organization were also themost frequently made changes.

Literacy Training

More than 85% of associates report that they did not receive literacy training. Of these

associates, almost half claim they did not take the training because they are already literate, and

just over 30% report that the service was not available to them.

Dental Services

Almost 3/4 of respondents said they did not receive dental services. 30% of these associates saidthe reason they did not receive the services was that they were not offered in their community.

Almost 20% of those surveyed said the service did not exist in their community and 13% said

they did not receive them because they were difficult to access. 23% of respondents did not givea reason as to why they did not receive the service.

Pap Smears

Of the associates surveyed, roughly half reported received pap smears through Esperanza. Of the

remaining half, most reported that they had received the exam elsewhere, while the remainder

reported not taking the exam due to discomfort, apathy, or availability. Of those who receivedpap smears, about half never received results.


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Vocational Training

Only ten percent of survey respondents reported that they had received vocational training of any

kind. Of the remaining ninety percent, almost half reported that they were never offered

vocational training, while another quarter said that they didn't know if the training was offered in

their community. The remaining quarter reported knowing of the service, but displayed variousreasons for not attending.

Preventative Health Care

Of the clients surveyed, roughly half had received preventative healthcare training and half had

not. Of those who had, respondents most often stated that they attended trainings because eitherthey thought it was generally important, because it was readily available at meetings, or because

they wanted to keep their children and families healthy. Over half of associates who had not

attended trainings reported that it was because they were not offered the service.

Esperanza y Vida

There was not enough data collected on this service to analyze proper conclusions as mostassociates were not a part of this complimentary service.

Q11: What do you think Esperanza should do to make their services more accessible to you?

This question was developed to address the accessibility (or lack thereof) of Esperanzascomplimentary services. Thirty six people replied that they were satisfied with the accessibility

of the services and had no suggestions to offer. Among those with ideas, the most frequentresponses touched on two closely related issues, proximity and transportation which amounted to

56 responses in total. Clients felt that services should either be supplied in the community, or that

Esperanza should provide transportation assistance to offset the cost of travelling to and from

service locations. In related responses, some associates stressed the dangers of travelling longdistances with children to participate in services. Another complaint relating to this issue was

that services were held at inconsistent locations.

Another concern was the timing/scheduling of services, which together accounted for 13

responses; some associates mentioned that services should be held more often, while others

noted that the current times did not fit well into their work schedules. One associate reportedthat every borrower in her community had to advocate for pap smears to be brought to their

community before it was delivered. Embedded in these stories is an issue of communication

regarding services. According to the associates bank meetings were the only platforms for

hearing about the services. Awareness of services, therefore, largely relied on word of mouth,which associates felt was insufficient. Some requested a calendar of services to be posted in the

community, or for time to be formally set aside during bank meetings for discussion and delivery

of complimentary services.

In addition to concerns around existing services, seven associates advocated that an expansion of

the current offering would be beneficial. One woman suggested training local community


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members to deliver the workshops, a concept that will reappear in later sections. Others noted

that while they were at one point receiving literacy training and/or vocational training, thoseprograms were discontinued in their communities. Three associates stressed the need for a

literacy program in particular.

Q12: What do you think Esperanza can do to improve the quality of their services?

In response to this question, the majority of associates were content with the quality of the

Esperanza complementary services and would not change them. However, some other commonresponses included:

Accessibility Add to and improve health care services Extend services to the whole family Flexibility in service provision Diversification of vocational trainings to include more subjects

Remove any discrepancies between branches in terms of quality and availability ofservices

Q13: Are there any other services that you wish Esperanza would offer?

The final qualitative question asked clients opinions on unfulfilled needs in their communities.When asked what other services they thought Esperanza could provide to benefit the

community, the answers covered a host of topics ranging from incredibly specific to more

generalized ideas. Of the 199 associates surveyed, 56 did not supply any ideas at the time of the

interview for potential new services.

Fifty of the responses fell into the category of healthcare. Some of the specific topics mentioned

were medication supply, cleanliness in the community, nutrition, mammograms, and waterprograms represented by 28, 8, 6, 5, and 3 responses respectively. Along with those mentioned

above associates suggested mobile clinics. The idea was to bring doctors to bank meetings to

conduct basic checkups and provide assistance with prescriptions. Other associates felt eye care

and gynecology were new health services they would like to see Esperanza offer.

The second largest category identified by the associates was directly related to their children and

youth in the community. A total of 38 women requested more programs for youth ranging fromeducation programs to day care/pre-school services to recreational programs as well. Another

service commonly noted was a desire for pediatric care.

Others cited vocational training as an area for more expansion. Although this is a service alreadyoffered by Esperanza the suggestions came from those who had yet to receive them. Associates

mentioned skills including baking/cooking, crafting, tutoring, first aid/nursing, hair styling,

leadership, salon skills, and carpentry as valuable options for future vocational trainings. Theseresponses were categorized as education for adults which held 14 responses.

The following list includes the other areas associates recommended for new services.


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Computer labs with computer literacy classes (13 responses) Home improvement loans (12 responses) Land assistance (5 responses) Transportation services (5 responses) Church (help building a church) (4 responses)

Water projects were requested in some communities (3 responses) Life insurance (2 responses)

Objective 2

Overall, lack of standardization across the organization seemed to cause a disparity in quality of

services delivered. Living in a rural area correlated with both a greater likelihood to lack keyservices and the desire for greater accessibility of services, particularly through increased

transportation options.

Business training and pap smear testing are the only services that are used by nearly all

borrowers. In contrast, literacy training is rarely accessible to the more impoverished, ruralassociate, who seemed more likely to be illiterate. Similarly, only 44 out of 199 individuals

surveyed said that they had received dental services from Esperanza, though many said that theywould use the services if offered in their community. Vocational training offerings were also

inconsistent, appearing only in certain locations at unpredictable times.

Objective 3

To address the third research objective, graphs were also composed to map use of services with

years with Esperanza. They show the evolution of service use as associates grow with Esperanza.

Objective 4

Responses from loan officers to the specific loan officer survey were recorded to assess loan

officers views of the adequacy and need of Esperanzas Plus services. Below are outlined theirresponses organized by service.

Preventative Healthcare

A successful preventative healthcare program is important to increasing the overall wellness ofEsperanza associates as well as helping them avoid expensive health care treatments later on.

Generally speaking, healthier borrowers will be in a better position to repay loans and improve

their businesses. Of the nine loan officers interviewed, there were mainly negative responses

when asked if they have seen improvement in hygiene and general health. Common themesappeared in the responses:

Loan officers said there were no discernible improvements in the health of theirassociates or their community due to the preventative healthcare programs;

Loan officers noted that people always seem to be sick in the communities, despite theefforts of the preventative health care program; and


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Loan officers are generally unsure of the impact that health education is having oncommunities.

Dental Services

A significant amount of loan officers reported that dental services have been offered in theircommunities, sometimes more than once a year. Loan officers reported that the services offered

were of very high quality. They also noted that bringing the services to the communities, rather

than having associates go to an office, made the service more accessible. However, the numberof associates actually reached is not as high as officers would like it to be. Another reported

limitation of the program was that it does not occur often. Officers report that a little less than

1,000 associates have received dental care.

Pap Smear

The benefits of the Pap Smear program include helping to prevent cervical cancer and other

infections. Loan officers confidently reported that a majority of their female associates havereceived the Pap Smear exam. An important finding was that there seems to be

miscommunication regarding this service: some branch officers would tell clients that Pap Smeartests were required prior to reception of a loan disbursement, while others had heard of no such

policy. It is unclear whether loan officers used this tactic to convince borrowers to get the service

or whether they were under the impression that it was Esperanza policy. Despite this difference,

officers concluded in general that requiring the program did help increase its use in borrowers.

Common problems with the Pap Smear service which officers reported include:

Many associates did not pursue follow-up after abnormal results were found. Officerscited the high cost of additional medical services.

Fear of the procedure and a general taboo surrounding the exam proved to be obstacles toproviding the services. Loan officers attributed this to a lack of education on the issue.

Women were not fully aware of the importance of the exam and subsequent results.Officers recommended that additional education and instructions be given to every

associate regarding next steps would help solve this problem.

Esperanza y Vida

There were few responses which discussed this program, most likely due to its confidentialnature, but the major conclusions include:

Four of the nine surveyed loan officers know of someone in the program. The loan officers all reported that they did not know much about the program in general. One strength cited was that it gives people another chance at life. One weakness cited was that it is bad for business, though no context given.


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General Loan Officer Comments

Loan officers were also interviewed for more general information about Esperanzas Plusservices. Following are thematic answers representing the common view of loan officers

interviewed: When asked which services their associates value as most and important, the answer was

a mix of all health services and vocational/business training. When asked which services

the loan officers themselves value as most and important, loan officers responded withhealth services and vocational training. It is important to note here that the single service

that loan officers left out of their list of most important services was the business training,

which is the only service which they themselves are tasked with providing.

Each of the loan officers surveyed report informing their associates about Esperanzasservices during bank meetings, with only one reporting that they hand out flyers.

Loan officers report that the complimentary services have helped retain borrowers andthat they enhance the program beyond just credit. Officers cited that associates appreciate

that Esperanza offers these services. Loan officers report that complementary services, especially health services, motivate

and enable associates to repay.

When asked how they deal with dissatisfaction with complimentary services, officersreport that they try their best to explain the policies the best they can and work further

with their client.

Many of the loan officers believe that family planning or providing condoms would be agood service for Esperanza to provide.

All loan officers surveyed reported that they believe it is important to build a relationshipfounded on trust with their associates.

Three loan officers surveyed reported they feel well equipped to deliver the services,while one said they do not feel equipped at all.

For programs they would change, add or eliminate, loan officers responded that theywould add additional health services with emphasis on mammograms and eye care, andcontraceptives.

Conclusions

Objective 1 - Have associates received value-added services?

The two major obstacles associates faced in receiving the services were a lack of availability

(which varied among branch offices), and a lack of awareness of their whereabouts. our data

shows that across all services, the number one reason cited for not using a service was that it was

not offered or available.

The services most frequently provided were the pap smear exam and the business training. one of

the strengths of the pap smear exam service is its high rate of utilization among associates most

likely due to strong promotion by loan officers. The weaknesses are the lack of consistent accessto exam results and follow-up services in the event of an abnormal test result.


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The business training is strong in that it is regularly offered to every borrower at repayment

meetings by loan officers. In terms of implementation of the lessons taught at the businesstraining sessions there seems to be mixed results. After discussions with borrowers who said that

they had learned from their loan officer to keep records of cash flow, of how to price products,

and other business training lessons, approximately 80 percent said they had applied at least one

change to their business and 20 percent said they hadnt.

Pap smears and business training were delivered the most consistently and successfully while

implementation of literacy, dental, health, and vocational services/trainings are yet to bedistributed with in predictable and systematic manner.

Objective 2 - Is there a difference between branch offices?

Overall, the research team concluded that significant differences exist in the services provided by

the branch offices. Only two servicesbusiness training and pap smearswere provided to

nearly all clients. The team speculates that this is because these services are particularly

convenient to access. For example, business training is provided by the loan officer at bankmeetings, and pap smears only require transportation on a once or twice per year basis.

Additionally, some loan officers require borrowers to receive a pap smear exam at the time ofeach new loan disbursement, which correlates with the high usage rate of this service.

The team found that the remaining services were often not accessible to individuals in rural

communities, which in many cases seemed to need these complementary services the most.While individuals in these communities were frequently illiterate, they were often not able to

access the literacy training that would help them in their business practices. Additionally, only 44

out of 199 individuals surveyed said that they had received dental services from Esperanza,though many said that they would use the services if offered in their communityand as seen in

Figures 1.1 to 1.7, were offered more frequently in urban regions such as Santo Domingo Norte,

San Pedro, and La Romana, as in more rural locations. Furthermore, vocational training offerings

were inconsistent, appearing only in certain locations at unpredictable times. In addition,vocational courses were often not provided in sectors of service or industry that interested

associates.

Reception of preventative health services was also irregular. Many associates cited that

preventative health care techniques were presented during bank meetings, not as an individual

service. As a result, training was only offered as time and convenience allowed within a one-hour meeting. Finally, health services seem to have been given a lower priority in comparison

with other topics in meetings.

Objective 3- Is there a difference in knowledge and use of services based on time with

Esperanza?

Associates responses indicate that there is no strong correlation between the amount of time an

individual has been associated with Esperanza and knowledge or use of services. However, thereis evidence that associates with less than 3 years with Esperanza access complementary services

less frequently.


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Objective 4: Loan Officers, Need, Feasibility, and Implementation

Business training

The services are easily implemented, since they take place during the meeting time and do notrequire associates to travel to participate. An obstacle to implementation is the length of

meetings, as borrowers lose interest or cannot budget enough time to participate in the training.

Loan officers suggested trainings could be improved by engaging a Creole translator, providingmore creative material, or creating smaller groups to allow for more time for training during

meetings.

Vocational Training

Vocational training was inconsistently implemented across branches. Officers see a need for the

services, but struggle to provide access.

Pap Smear

The obstacles to pap smear utilization are fear of pain, difficulty explaining importance of exam,

and cultural issues. Due to expense concerns, loan officers are unable to ensure that associates

receive follow-up services upon completing the pap smear. Loan officers expressed a desire for

greater training around the significance of the pap smear and its results.

Esperanza y Vida

Loan officers expressed concerns around Esperanza being forced to cover the losses in instances

when associates cannot pay due to their illness. The suggested solution was to reemphasize the

significance of repayment. It was concluded that Loan officers were unaware of what the

program is meant to do.

Preventative Health

As indicated by the results of the survey, the loan officers detected little discernible change in the

overall health of the community due to the preventative health services. Although the need for

preventative health exists, the current services are not implemented to the fullest degree.

Dental

The dental services are generally available and are seen by the loan officers as very important tothe associates. This is a service that could benefit from expansion because dental care is only

offered a limited number of times per year and not feasibly available to every Esperanza

borrower during those times due to space and time constraints.


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Recommendations Based on Objectives

Based on research objectives and survey outcomes, recommendations are categorized as follows.

Improvement and Standardization of Loan Officer Practices

In order to improve those services whose quality has returned mixed results, a process of

standardization of loan officer training could help regulate performance of the services andidentify gaps. For example, based on loan officers and associates accounts of the provision ofbusiness training, there appears to be gaps in the way it is taught by different officers in different

areas, as well as the importance each officer places on the service. Reinforcing all loan officersknowledge of the concepts to be presented would make this service more uniform. In addition,

recurring professional development in different areas would emphasize the importance of the

service and staying updated on it. Interviews with loan officers have also shown that some are

trained as teachers and others are not; it would be highly beneficial for officers to receive

instruction on effective teaching methods, especially because they often have a very limited timeperiod (a few minutes out of the hour-long meeting) to teach concepts.

A common issue identified by loan officers was their large workload. The research team tried to

consider creative solutions to this problem that wouldnt necessarily be as capital-intensive as

hiring new officers; one idea was a system of evaluation and incentives for loan officers to

measure performance and increase motivation for providing quality services. Performanceevaluations could be done on a quarterly basis (or at whatever frequency is deemed appropriate)

at an unannounced time, by a reporter like an Esperanza facilitator who speaks to both the loan

officer and her associates to measure how well services are being provided and to identify anygaps in service. These evaluations could be followed by a system of loan officer incentives,

measured by the completion of clearly defined goals and milestones in the provision of services

in a community and tracked publicly in branch offices. This could appear in the form of a

progress plan for the community, including things like all associates will have received xsessions of high-quality business training by the end of the loan cycle, or x illiterate borrowers

will be engaged in literacy courses within 6 months. The incentives would obviously be most

effective if they are cash incentives, but a program of monthly recognition for outstandingofficers could contribute to motivation as well.

Finally, some of the inefficiencies in provision of services could be improved through bettercommunication between loan officers and associates. Because many associates reported

confusion or lack of knowledge about location or time of services, it could be useful to publicly

post a calendar of meetings, events, and services in branch offices and communities, including

the use of pictures or symbols for illiterate associates. Cell phones could also contribute to thiswith the implementation of a text message reminder system for these events or other important

messages, like balance or repayment reminders. Better communication through cell phones

between loan officers and associates could also make meetings more efficient by resolving any

issues that can be dealt with ahead of time, instead of using up already-limited meeting time. Ithas been noted to the team by Esperanza staff that this system is already in place but is currently

underutilized. Another significant issue in communication is the language barrier between


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Haitian Creole-speaking associates and Spanish-speaking loan officers. As these associates are

often located in more rural and underserved areas, difficulties in communication only furtherreduce their awareness of and access to services. A short term plan to deal with this issue would

be to designate a trusted local translator to facilitate meetings and other interactions; a long term

plan could involve giving preference to loan officer candidates with Haitian Creole fluency.

Group Leader Development

In order to better facilitate provision of services, Esperanza could select group leaders orassociates who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, comprehension of business

development concepts, or vocational or literacy skills and train them to become facilitators in

any of those areas. This could remove some of the strain from overloaded loan officers, allowingthem to focus more on their other responsibilities or services, in addition to further empowering

women to become leaders in their communities and becoming more involved and invested in

Esperanza as an organization. To minimize costs, an easily available, established training

curriculum could be used for each topic. Esperanzas associates are a very multitalented,

enthusiastic, and motivated group of women, and their contributions to the organization shouldnot be underestimated. Group leaders can also be better utilized as a link of communication

between loan officers and other associates, especially via cell phones. It has been noted byEsperanza staff that this system is already in place but is not currently used frequently.

Expansion and Improvement of Key Existing Services

The research team recommends that three of Esperanzas existing services be the focus of

improvement and expansion: business training, vocational training, and literacy training.Although the team recognizes that expansion of services can often be a financially intensive

process, these services were chosen because of both their importance and their potential to be

expanded at relatively minimal cost to the organization.

Although business training is one of the most widely and most consistently offered services, the

quality of the training has returned mixed results. A system of quality control, based on concretemilestones and goals for comprehension of concepts, as well as loan officer performance

evaluations (as specified above), would help ensure that all associates are receiving regular and

effective business training. This system would not necessarily be costly as it would mostlyinvolve the implementation of a procedure, rather than any significant investment.

On average, in the communities studied, 60% of all associates sold resale products, used clothing

alone comprising nearly half of that. More different types of businesses, started from new skillslearned through vocational training, could create a more diverse market in a community and

ultimately benefit income and welfare of associates.

Literacy was shown to be a huge need in many communities, especially in more rural areas

located farther from branch offices. An expanded literacy program would not only improve

associates control over many aspects of their lives but would also complement the businesstraining they receive by allowing them to more effectively put into practice recording methods


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and other written techniques. This program should maintain a strong focus on the

aforementioned regions with the greatest need.

In all of these services, costs can be reduced by utilizing the skills of associates to facilitate the

program. A training program could be developed at quite low cost from easily available and

established curriculum for each topic, and loan officers could identify ass ociates who havedemonstrated outstanding leadership skills, comprehension of business concepts, or vocational

skills to be trained in teaching these areas. These associates could help reinforce businessconcepts with their fellow bank members, teach a new skill, or teach literacythus taking some

of the stress off of overloaded loan officers. In addition, teachers for these courses could be

sourced through partnerships with internship programs at local universities, community serviceprograms at high schools, and other companies or professionals looking for meaningful volunteer

experiences.

Organizational Partnerships and Other Services

Because there are not enough resources to fund all services completely, an ideal way to operatesome of the services that are less crucial to Esperanzas main mission would be to look forpartner organizations with whom to collaborate on these services. Especially with regard to the

health services offered by Esperanza, there are many organizations and foundations all over the

world that are searching for ways to support institutions like Esperanza, and with a smallconcerted effort these connections could quite feasibly be made. Some suggestions for such

institutions can be found below.

Potential Funding Sources

In addition to the fieldwork analyzed in this study, the team has also identified several potential

sources of funding where they believe Esperanza could have a very good chance of receivinggrant capital, as Esperanza seems to fit well within the vision and specific programs of these

organizations. These chances would be even further improved with the investment of hiring adedicated grant writer to apply for these opportunities, and allow Esperanza to not only reach

sufficiency in the services it currently provides but expand into new communities and new

services. Examples are listed below:

Henry Luce Foundation Omidyar Network The Gates Foundation Kaufman Foundation CGI CGAP

Suggestions for uses of potential grant funding:

Expanding Esperanzas use of electronic services based on the model of M-Pesa. M-Pesa is an

African company which allows people to transfer and receive money via cell phone. Advantages


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of the M-Pesa model include reduced costs of dealing with cash, increased safety, and increasing

associates access to their own funds.

Implement a replication of Fonkozes Chemen Lavi Miy program for the poorest of the poorin the Dominican Republic. Chemen Lavi Miy provides small grants and assistance to the

poorest, most vulnerable, and most isolated women, allowing them to cover their basic needsbefore becoming secure enough to be assimilated into lending programs.

A mobile health clinic that, instead of being a single, stationary clinic only serving a very limited

area, can travel to various areas and provide general medical, dental, and/or other health serviceson an interim basis.


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Appendix

Data Series 1: General Associate Data

Chart 1.1 - Why Did You Become an Associate?


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Chart 1.2 - Type of Associate Business


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Chart 1.3 - Number of Loans Taken by Associate

Data Series 2: Percent Awareness, Availability, and Use of Complementary Services by Location

Chart 1.1Business Training


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Chart 1.2Dental Services

Chart 1.3Literacy Training Chart 1.4Vocational Training

Chart 1.5Esperanza Y Vida Chart 1.6Pap Smear


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Chart 1.7Preventative Health Services

Data Series 3: Qualitative Data on Use of Services

Chart 3.1 - Changes Made to Business after Business Training


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Chart 3.2 - Why Did You Get a Pap Smear

Chart 3.3 - What Was the Follow Up from Your Pap Smear?


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Chart 3.4 - Why Borrowers Did Not Take Vocational Training

Chart 3.5 Reasons for Using/Not Using Business Training

Used

(Yes/No)Reasoning

Number of People

Who Responded

Percentage of

Total

No Not Available 15 71.43%

NoPrior

Knowledge/Background2 9.52%

No Inconvenient 2 9.52%

No Miscommunication 2 9.52%

Total Number of

Responses21


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Chart 3.6 Reasons for Using/Not Using Dental Services

Used

(Yes/No)Reasoning

Number of

People Who

Responded

Percentage

of Total

Yes Dental Issues 12 7.74%Yes Hygiene 10 6.45%

No Not Available 48 30.97%

No Unaware 24 15.48%

No Inaccessible 18 11.61%

No Received Elsewhere 13 8.39%

No Not Wanted 7 4.52%

No Loan Officer Influence 6 3.87%

No New to Program 6 3.87%

No Limited Amount of Space 5 3.23%

No Scared 2 1.29%

No Wasnt Needed 2 1.29%

NoNo Time (dont want to lose

business)2

1.29%

Total Number Responded Yes 22 14.19%

Total Number Responded No 133 85.81%

Total Number of Responses 155

Chart 3.7 Reasons for Using/Not Using Health Care Services

Used

(Yes/No)Reasoning

Number of

People Who

Responded

Percentage

of Total

Yes To Learn/It's Important 37 23.72%

Yes Provided at Meetings 29 18.59%

Yes To Keep Children/Family Healthy 20 12.82%

Yes Free/Trust Esperanza 7 4.49%

Yes It's Mandatory 2 1.28%No Not Offered 28 17.95%

No Just Joined Esperanza 7 4.49%

No Other 6 3.85%

No Unaware 6 3.85%

No No Time 6 3.85%


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No Didn't Want To 4 2.56%

No Not Sick 3 1.92%

No Doesn't Know Why Not 1 0.64%

Total Number Responded Yes 95 60.90%

Total Number Responded No 61 39.10%Total Number of Responses 156

Data Set 4: Years With Esperanza as Data Determinant

Chart 4.1Bus. Training vs. Yrs Esperanza Chart 4.2 - EyV vs. Yrs Esperanza

Chart 4.3 - Health vs. Yrs Esperanza Chart 4.4Literacy vs. Yrs Esperanza


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Chart 4.5 - Pap vs. Yrs Esperanza Chart 4.6 - Vocational vs. Yrs Esperanza

Data Set 5: Extras

Chart 5.1Additional Services Requested


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Chart 5.2 - Associate Cell Phone Usage

Data Set 6: Trends in the Use of Complimentary Services

In order to determine which complimentary services were offered to associates and how those

services were being carried out, 199 respondents were asked to respond to a number of questions

regarding business training, literacy programs, vocational training, preventative health care, papsmears, dental services, and Esperanza y Vida. The goal was also to determine how or why

associates took part in the service, or why they were unable or unwilling to.


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Business Training:

- 86% of associates surveyed had received business trainingo Of these respondents:

12% have changed the pricing of their business 8% have changed their loan use 27% have improved the customer service of their business 58% have created separate accounts for their finances 19% have improved marketing techniques for their business 23% have expanded their business 22% have improved the organization of their business 20% have not changed their business at all 25% have adjusted the products sold by their business

- 13% of associates surveyed had not received business training- 1% did not respond


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Literacy Training:

- Only 11.5% of associates surveyed had received literacy training- Of the remaining 88.5%:

o 44% were already literateo 32% stated that the service was not availableo 7% had no time to attend the trainingso 7% were unavailableo 3% did not say whyo 3% started the training but did not finisho 3% cited a personal or medical reasono 1% said they had not attended but planned to start soon

No time

7%

Not available

32%

Literate

44%

Unavailable

7%

Personal or

medical reason

3%Starting soon

1%Started but did

not finish

3%

Did not say why

3%

Why Associates Did Not Use Literacy Training


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Vocational Training:

-

Just under 10% of associates have received vocational training- Of the 90% of associates who have not received vocational training:o 44% are not offered ito 24% dont know if they are offered ito 15% are offered it but are too busy to receive ito 9% are offered it but are not interestedo 5% are offered it but dont think they need ito 2% are offered it but they think its too far awayo 1% are offered it but dont understand what vocational training means


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Preventative Health Care Training:

To learn or

because it's

important

35%

To keep children

and family healthy

19%

Available, free, or

trust in Esperanza

7%

Provided at

mee ngs

27%

Doesn't know why

1%

Mandatory

3%

Other

8%

Why Associates Received Health Services


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- 48% of associates have received preventative healthcare training:o 35% of those because they thought it was importanto 27% of those because it was provided at meetingso 19% of those because they wanted to keep children and family healthyo 7% of those because it was available, free and they trusted Esperanzao

3% of those because it was mandatoryo 1% of those didnt know whyo 8% of those gave specific other reasons

- 47% of associates have not received preventative healthcare training:o 52% of those because they were not offered the serviceo 13% of those because they had just joined Esperanzao 11% of those did not have time to attend trainingso 11% of those were unaware the service existed in their communityo 7% of those did not want to attendo 6% of those didnt attend because they were not sick

- 5% of total associates surveyed did not respond


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Pap Smear Testing:


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- 50% of women received pap smears.o 31.5% did not explain why they got the serviceo 12% received pap smear because they think health is importanto 3% received pap smear because it was recommendedo 3% received pap smear because it was requiredo 0.5% received pap smear because it was free

- 47% of women did not receive pap smears.o Of the 94 women who did not receive a pap smear exam:

43 received it elsewhere 10 said they were either afraid or uncomfortable taking the exam 20 respondents said they did not care enough about the exam to take it

stating that they felt fine or had never had one before so they didnt need

to start now

21 said that the exam was not available- 3% Did not know if they received a pap smear- Of the 50% who received pap smears:

o 26% of women surveyed did not receive resultso 24% of women surveyed did receive results

15% did not have abnormal results 8% did have abnormal results and Esperanza covered their treatment 1% (one woman) received an abnormal result and was referred to a clinic

for treatment but has not gone

Didn't Get Results

26%

Got Results

15%

Esperanza

Covered

Treatment

8%

Didn't Get

Treatment

1%

No Exam

47%

No Response

3%

Pap Smear Exam and Follow Up


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Dental Services:

- 22% of respondents received dental services:o Either because of dental issues, hygiene, or influence of loan officer

- Of the 74% of respondents who did not receive dental services:o 30% did not receive them because they were not availableo 19% did not receive them because they were unaware the service existed in their

community

o 13% did not receive them because the services were inaccessibleo 8% did not receive them because they were receiving other dental services

elsewhereo 4% did not receive them because they did not want the serviceo 2% did not receive them because they were scared of receiving the serviceo 1% did not receive them because they claimed to not need the serviceo 23% did not respond to the question

Received

22%

Not Received

74%

Don't Know

2%

Didn't

Answer

2%

Dental Services

Unaware

19%

Not available

30%

Not needed

1%

Other

service

8%

Scared

2%

Inaccessible

13%

Didn't answer

23%

Not wanted

4%

Why Associates Are Not Using Dental

Services

Esperanza Management Memorandum - Updated

Documents

Transcript of Esperanza Management Memorandum - Updated