Welcome to the Synergies site!

The Synergies project site is intended as a platform on current applied research and practical implementation of linking financial services to business services that contribute to pro poor enterprise development, income and job creation.

The site builds on research and implementation reports of practical field experiences of Microfinance Institutions and other players in linking services in a (financially) sustainable manner. While focussing on enterprise and value chain development it also draws on other approaches that share the challenge posed by the pro poor linkage of services that are very different in nature.

The site is intended for

• MFI and Bank managers interested in linkages to non-financial services
• Development practitioners interested in MSE development and income generation for the poor
• Researchers in Microfinance, Value Chain Development and Business Development Services

The site contains:

• Key-documents in six categories divided by the main current research and implementation areas
• Key documents that  provide evidence about  the impact of linking services
• Key links to websites with further information
• Links to institutions that are actively linking services
• Conferences and training events
• About us: who is behind this website and how to contact us

Pro Poor Finance-BDS Linkages

 In the last decades Microfinance has become one of the main tools to address the need for financial intermediation of the poor. In many countries microfinance has also become an important source of working and investment capital for micro and small enterprises. Today a wide range of MFIs and microfinance banks have MSEs as their main target group. The outreach of these financial services surpasses by large the outreach of non-financial enterprise services in these countries. But, at the same time practitioners recognize that financial constraints may not be the main constraint for the growth and employment creation potential of MSEs. Very often the access to growing markets and the capacities needed to reach these markets is one of the greatest challenges. That is why business services that help MSEs to reach out to markets and improve their managerial capacities can be crucial.

Until now, the fields of practice of finance and BDS have been separated. This in part was due to the need of service providers to develop core competencies and achieve financial sustainability, but also due to the different nature of the products. However lately the debate about how MSEs can have access to both financial and business services (embedded or transactional) has gained strength. More and more practitioners are looking into new ways of linking these services in a way that is financially sustainable for the financial as well as the non-financial side.

Our Proposal is  therefore to  raise the awareness of the possibility of linkage in a financially sustainable way and to develop first entry points of action for MFIs, NGO’s, donor agencies, consulting firms, government agencies, central banks, commercial banks working in financial market development, enterprise and value chain development actors interested in learning more about the synergies that can be created by linking finance and BDS.

The following paper and the underlying research constitute the basis for this site:

Synergies through Linkages: Who Benefits from Linking Finance and Business Development Services?