Social Finance Working Paper #59: Microfinance and enterprise’s formalisation

An impact study of ESAF’s (India) microfinance innovation

The Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), through its Microfinance and Investments (P) Ltd (EMFIL) of India participated in the ILO’s Microfinance for Decent Work (MF4DW): Action Research project from 2008-2012. As part of this experimental research, ESAF launched and tested business development services and awareness raising activities on the benefits of formalisation for their members entrepreneurs in order to see if there was a positive impact of formalisation on the economic and social performances of clients and their enterprises, using a target versus control group methodology.