MFI Information:

VisionFund Cambodia
Mission: Vision Fund is a Christian company that provides financial services to help the poor liberate themselves from poverty

Decent Work Area:

Vulnerability, risk management and overindebtedness

Innovation:

Non-Financial Services: Financial Education

Financial education training, based on ILO’s financial education manuals for Cambodia. The goal was to equip clients with skills and knowledge so that they take informed decisions about earnings, spending, budgeting, savings, and borrowing. VFC applied a direct training approach and implemented training sessions with clients.

Results:

Some impact on financial attitude and risk management

• 10% decrease of negative perception towards insurance
• Partially improved attitude towards savings
• 9% increase of setting money aside for future emergencies
• 22% increase in ability to put money aside for emergency expenses;

Little evidence with respect to asset building (except for 8-10% increase of savings incidence);

Many mixed and counter-intuitive results for multiple borrowing/over-indebtedness and vulnerability.

• Increased borrowing from informal source by 19-22%
• 9% increase in taking out loan to repay another
• Ability to cover HH expenses reduced by almost 20% while ability to cover unforeseen HH expenses increased 8-13%

Relevant links:

• 1 Page poster with summary of MF4DW intervention and MFI profile
• VisionFund Cambodia Microfinance and risk management: An impact assessment of a client training on financial education.