In April 2010, Asirvad and Lok brought in MicroSave to undertake a comprehensive social performance management (SPM) diagnostic and action-planning exercise to gain a competitive edge in the fiercely competitive rural lending environment in the South. Asirvad Microfinance Private Ltd. (Asirvad) is an NBFC-MFI operating in 14 districts of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In 2009, Lok Capital (Lok), a social venture fund, became a partner to Asirvad by subscribing to 24% equity.
The SPM diagnostic focussed on the following areas:
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Overlap between social and financial performance and mutual reinforcement for better achievement of organisational goals
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Synergies between partners through participatory planning/strategising exercises
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Focus areas over a definite time-frame
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Process improvement
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Human Resource Development
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Value addition to existing services
SPM intervention led to improvements in product design, client protection, staff incentives, transparency, professional quality services, and sustainability with a goal of increasing outreach to the unbanked.