This decline is due to salary freezes and an under-investment in staff. For example, a key manager left the program in 1998 and has not been replaced. Management believes, however, that this system will not be sustainable as the number of clients grows. Even in the absence of competitive pressure, the volume of transactions is becoming too large for the banks to handle. Due to the efforts of a strong management team, the institution has continued to grow solidly during a period of tight funding.
Plans are underway to invest in the capacity of management and branch-level operations.
This article, by Jennifer McDonald, Calmeadow, is reprinted from the MicroBanking Bulletin , February 2000, with minor editing and additional comments in brackets.