Council of Practitioners
 Du
Xiaoshan, Executive Director, Funding the Poor Cooperative (FPC), China
Both the headquarters and
branches of FPC explicitly target the rural poor and poorest, especially
women. All three FPC branches are located in rural areas in counties
designated by the government as poor. FPC has an official policy to only
serve clients who meet the following criteria:
At present, the clients of
FPC whose families’ annual per capita income is less than RMB 625 (US $76,
the official poverty line in China) account for 55%. According to the World
Bank’s poverty level—earning less than one US dollar a day, or equal to
RMB 1,000 in the purchasing power parity (PPP) method—the poorest clients
account for about 90% of the total clientele.
All of the new clients need
to undergo a poverty screening. When the loan officer enters a village, he
or she will conduct some surveys and mobilize the villagers to actively
apply for FPC’s loans, sometimes with the help of government staff and
village heads. The loan officer assesses the qualifications of the potential
borrowers by their house index and fixed assets of the families.
We put emphasis on enhancing
our staff’s awareness of targeting the poorest. While achieving
self-sufficiency, we must serve and assist the poorest in accordance with
our goals. We actively mobilize the poorest households to join in FPC and
encourage them to form groups with other poorest households or members of
FPC. The old members of FPC also help the new clients develop
income-generating programs.
After six years of operation, FPC has
achieved financial self-sufficiency in 2000 – 102% and a positive return
on assets. A major factor in FPC’s financial performance is the high cost
efficiencies that we are able to achieve due to lower staff and
administrative costs in China than other countries. However, FPC has
realized that to be a financially self-sufficient institution, we cannot
always rely on low costs, for we need to increase salaries to attract
qualified staff to strengthen both the headquarters and branches and
standardize operations. So it can be expected that financial performance may
decrease slightly over the coming years if portfolio size is maintained at
current levels.
|
2001 Institutional Action Plan Summary for
Pracitioners in Developing Countries |
| |
Strategic Objective |
As of 31 Dec. 1998 (actual) |
As of 31 Dec. 1999 (actual) |
By 31 Dec. 2000 (proposed) |
By 31 Dec. 2005 (proposed) |
| 1. |
Total number of active clients (clients who currently have a loan) |
9 000 |
12 100 |
13 700 |
25,000 - 80,000
(depending on funds) |
| 2a. |
Total number of active clients who were among the poorest* when they
received their first loan |
5 000 |
6 500 |
7 500 |
13 000 |
| 2b. |
What poverty measurement was used to determine Number 2a (e.g., CASHPOR House Index, Participatory Wealth Ranking, estimate, other) |
HOUSE INDEX |
HOUSE INDEX |
HOUSE INDEX |
HOUSE INDEX |
| 2c. |
Percent of Number 2a., above, who are female |
90% |
93% |
93% |
93% |
| 3. |
Average first loan per borrower (in $US) |
100 $US |
120 $US |
120 $US |
140 $US |
| 5. |
Average savings per saver (in US$) |
10 $US |
12 $US |
15 $US |
20 20 $US |
| 9. |
Percent financial self-sufficiency: (What percentage of your operating
and financial expenses are you covering with income from interest and
fees?) |
70% |
90% |
95% |
100% |
| *"Poorest" in developing countries refers to
families whose income is in the bottom 50 percent of the population
living below their country's poverty line. |
|
