An Assessment of the Impact of Microfinance: A Case Study from Uganda

Abstract

This paper reports the results of an impact study of three microfinance programs in Uganda—FINCA, FOCCAS, and PRIDE. Program clients and nonclient groups in three places—rural Mbole district, Kampala, and Masaha town—were studied in an initial survey and a follow-up two years later. The study found numerous positive impacts on program clients: addition of new products and services, improved or expanded enterprise sites and markets, reduced costs of inventory purchases, and increases in sales volume. Household-level impacts included new enterprises begun, increased amount spent on durable assets and agricultural inputs, increased amount of cultivated agricultural land, and increased amount of household income from crops. Microfinance programs help client households reduce financial vulnerability through diversification of income sources and accumulation of assets.