In 2015 we embarked on a longitudinal study in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth to start measuring the impact of Lendwithcare loans on the lives of the entrepreneurs we support. We have always monitored our impact, and over the years have conducted hundreds of interviews with the recipients of your loans, but we wanted to try and examine our impact in a more rigorous manner. We started collecting data on social and economic indicators in Pakistan in 2015, and re-interviewed the same clients two years later, and have just had the first results back. And the results are amazing!:
- 74% of respondents reported an increase in business profits
- 77% reported better standards of living (in terms of being able to cover household expenses, improved diet and healthcare)
- 55% of entrepreneurs have improved their ‘poverty score’ in just two year. (This refers to their Povety Probability Index (PPI) score, a poverty measurement tool for organisations and businesses with a mission to serve the poor.) Where people’s score has improved, the probability of their poverty has decreased.
- The biggest changes in poverty score occurred for women and those who are illiterate:
63% of women improved their poverty score
62% of those who are illiterate improved their poverty score
The results compare a baseline study of 500 new borrowers who are followed throughout the study, and a control group of 100 non-clients who are also followed over the course of the study. Having the comparison control group enables us to mitigate against the effects of general improvements in the area overall.
The University of Portsmouth said: “These findings lead us to conclude that the finance offered by Lendwithcare is making a difference to the lives and business growth of the entrepreneurs it supports.” We have just completed the same exercise in Zimbabwe, so look forward to sharing the results with you all very soon!
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A full copy of the report is now available - please email info@lendwithcare.org if you would like to read it.