MARKET RESEARCH

World Vision Albania – MED Building Futures Program

Lezhe, April 24, 2004

Our Research Objective
To find out the potential in Lezha Area
Findings about BF in general
Finding out about potential business sectors
Findings about BF competition
Findings about promotion for BF in general
Findings about “ideal” product
Other findings
 Reasons for Market Research
 Lack of loan demand in Lezha area
(INCRESING NUMBER OF MKOs, THEIR AGRESSIVE PROMOTION, etc.)

 Possibility to provide market oriented products for

rural areas
(According to our strategic plan)

 Some preliminary findings from previous FGD

Sampling
Potential Client
Existing Clients
Mixed Businesses
Agricultural
Same gender
All BF Staff 6 Focus Groups
Over 55 participants
Over 110 analyzed questionnaire
 Geographical Area
Covered with Research
 Lezha Branch
Research Methods
 Existing Data
• MIS
• Market surveys for potential clients
• Competition matrix
• Data from previous FGD
 Information from the staff
• Staff feedback
 Information from clients
• FGD in general about potential
• Product attribute ranking (importance of different product
attributes for potential and existing clients)
 Existing Data
•MIS
(We used existing data from our MIS in order to find out clients by sectors,
portfolio etc. and also some trends about it.
Market surveys
(We developed survey for existing and potential clients)
Competition matrix
(We developed this matrix and did research of competitors in Lezha area We
included main competitors end BF. We collected all data very seriously and
in order to facilitate that we encourage our staff to do some ,,mystery
shopping,, and took a leaflets, brochures etc.)
•Data from previous FGD
(We used as mentioned some preliminary data from our FGD discussion in
Lezha Branch)
 Information from the staff
•Staff feedback
(We had a meeting with Lezha Branch manager to prepare everything for
MR. Also we did staff feedback in Lezha and Korca Branch. We developed
staff feedback discussion guide as well)
Information from clients

•FGD in general about potential in Lezha area

(we developed discussion guide with some general questions in order to get some preliminary
information generally about BF and BF potential in this area...)

•Product attribute ranking

(We developed discussion guide and prepared necessary tools for techniques in order to investigate
importance of different product attributes for potential and existing clients )

•In depth interviews with delinquent clients

We chose the most important and interesting graphs from existing data and data from
staff feedback and also the most important findings on the consensus bases. To facilitate
the work on this topic due to better understanding the whole research process we divided
it to several sub-topics and as a slide shows several parts (1,2,3)
 I

FINDINGS:
EXISTING DATA
 100

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Media
Communication

Fisheries

Tranport

Construction

Manufacturing

Land Production
Existing Data

Services
Portfolio by Sectors Lezha Branch

Livestock

Trade
 How Clients Have Heard about BF (exit forms)

Other

Employees of BF

Agri-associations

Community
Representatives

Radio / TV

Friends / Neighbours

0 5 10 15 20 25
Suggested ways of promotion (exit forms)

 Organized Presentations

 Visit door-to-door

 Leaflets
 10
12
14
16
18

0
2
4
6
8
Livestock

Fishing

Land Production

Truck farming

Medicinal herbs

Trade of Food
items

Transport

Small
Manufacturing

Construction

Not Interested in
Loan
Findings about potential business sectors (questionnaires)
Findings about BF and BF Competition
(Exsisting Data from Competition Matrix)
 Application to Disbursement time – It moves from 3-4 days in BESA Foundation up to
one week in BF and Pro-credit Bank.
 Collateral/ Guarantees – BF is flexible in collaterals compare with his competitors (BF use
Business and household assets, other sources: salaries, pensions.. while the others used
mortgage that cost to people)
 Duration of loan – It moves from 3 – 24 months for BF and Besa. while for Pro-credit move
up to 120 months. Besa is the only competitor with BF at this point.
 Repayment Period – We consider as competitor BESA and PROCREDIT because they
have the same way of repayment as BF.
 Grace Period – We don’t have competitors in this point because BESA and PROCREDIT
doesn’t offer grace period.
 Loan Size – it moves at BF from 200$ - 7.000$, BESA from 200$ - 15.000 $, PROCREDIT
BANK from 200$ - 50.000$. BESA can be the only competitor for this moment.
 Access in Requirements – We have competition with Besa because they offer loan to
register and unregistered business as we do ,also Pro-credit offer loan register and
unregistered business, but with one condition. They must have at least 6 months activity.
 Interest Rate - Interest Rate move from 14.4 % in BF. 9% in Pro Credit, and 13 % in Besa.
 Application fee. – Besa and Pro credit are our competitors in this point because we have
the same application fee 2%.
 Late payment Penalties.- We have the same policies.
 Prepayment – interest forgiven in BF when the client closes the loan. While in Pro credit
Bank is forgiven 10-20% of interest based in the decision of LC.
 Marketing/Information Dissemination – We don’t have competitors in that point
because we are talking directly to the people through information meetings.
 Advertising – Our competitor is Pro Credit Bank because they have a professional nice
package of promotion.
 Physical evidence – We are located in the centre of the town as o ur competitor
even their place is exposed more
 Corporate Image – We are more flexible in communication with people.
 Product Image – We are more focused in small business and agricultural.
 Process – It is decentralized in BF and Pro-credit while in Besa foundation is centralized.
 Finding about BF Competition (exit forms)

14%

BESA Foundation
23% Pro-Credit Bank
I never heard about both
63%
 II
FINDINGS:
INFORMATIONS FROM
FGD and PRA
Findings in General about BF

BF is
good organization who educates people
about financial culture
good staff, kindly and professional
has to change some conditions of loans
Finding out about potential business sectors

LIVESTOCK
LAND PRODUCTION
TRADE OF FOOD ITEM
(RURAL AREAS)
TOURISM
 Findings about the suitable product in
rural areas
 The client’s possibility to repay big monthly
installment in rural areas is low.
 For agricultural machineries there is need for
bigger loan size
 Land production and livestock needs grace
period from 0 to 6 months
 There is difficulty in rural areas for providing
too much collateral
Clientslike this way of
cooperation
(THEY PREFERE FGD BECAUSE THEY HAVE OPPOTUNITY TO
TALK DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE FROM BF AND CAN EXPRES
THEIR OPINIONS, DESIRES AND SUGGESTIONS. ALSO THEY
CAN MEET OTHER PEOPLE AND SHARE WITH THEM THEIR
EXPERIENCE. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE SATISFIED AND THEY
RECOMMEND TO BF TO USE THIS WAY OF COOPERATION
PERMANENTLY AND MUCH MORE IN THE FUTURE)
 III

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS:
 In Rural Areas there is no a serious
competition and BF should go deeper in
this market. There is great potential especially in livestock
and land production, unmet demand. BF has the opportunity to be
the first in credit provider in uncovered areas.

 For small amounts the collateral and

guarantors should be more flexible –
related to rural areas
Rural clients find difficulties on providing collaterals and
guarantors.

 Women are not enough educated in the

rural areas. BF could cooperate with ADPs, who could train
them and than to have a joint program for picking up potential
women for loans
 Loan Size could be bigger depending on the
client’s contribution and capacity.

 Grace Period to be 0-6 months for

agricultural loans where the loans are
individually evaluated. From the FGD it was found
that clients are able to repay small monthly installments in
agricultural businesses

 Declarations and the verification of the

salary / pension to be also in the same
paper provided as template to the client by
BF
 NEXT STEPS
 Management to analyze MR recommendations or
combination of them (including new ones from MR
team, if any) and decide what of those to put into
practice – suggested deadline: latest 30th April 04
 One day session with all staff (or BMs only) on the
decisions taken – suggested deadline 7 May 04
th

 Each Branch to design an implementation plan and

phase for the decisions made – deadline 14 May 04
th

 Start of Implementation – suggested deadline 24 May 04

th

 Follow up and monitoring of the implementation

activities – suggested during the process
 Submission of progress report on the
implementation activities and evaluation of the
process – suggested deadline at 1 July 04
st
WVA Building Futures MR TEAM