Women in Leadership at All Levels: Empowering Women To Become The Next Generation of Microfinance Leaders 17th Microcredit Summit 2014 Summit

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Cambodia Diaries Case Study
September 2014

2. Discover Unreported Patterns
• “The Financial Diaries in Cambodia” study was completed
in May 2014 by Baruch College student Jeremy Sze (honors
thesis), and advised by Michele Costello (Professor, Baruch
College)
• Using surveys, interviews and financial diaries, the team
documented household financial flows for ten typical rural
households over 6 months to find unreported patterns
• Diary data is unique and cannot be easily replicated with
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surveys or focus groups
• Study was supported with the tools and resources of
microfinanceopportunities.org

3. Case Study: Kaliyan, MFI Liaison
• Kaliyan, 44, lives in a village near Phnom Pehn with her
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husband, son, newborn baby, and mother
• She makes a living making skirts on the loom, and buying
empty plastic bottles to sell, and receives small
commissions as the MFI liaison in her community
• Her husband, the Village Chief Assistant, also works
periodically as a cook and construction worker
• Her mother also works at home making cotton threads
from cottonseeds
• Her son is studying Korean to obtain a factory job in Korea

4. She Relies on Savings and Loans
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• She is the household finance manager (typical for
matriarchs in this community)
• The household has four loans from MFIs (one housing -
repaid, one for a loom – repaid , two for health expense for
the baby - outstanding)
• Kaliyan plays tongtin, a form of auction ROSCA in her
community, despite access to formal savings and loans
• She saves money at home and in the MFI where she is the
liaison
• Her household is cash flow negative during the study due to
the birth expenses, but she is able to draw on the savings

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Case Discussion Questions
• Female as household finance manager: what does it mean for
MFIs in terms of marketing and product design?
• Is the female MFI liaison enhancing outreach to women in the
community?
• Why use ROSCAs alongside the loans and savings she already
has?
• Why is the MFI liaison still using informal sources of
financing? What does it say about functional and/or cultural
barriers to current MFI product uptake?