Business objectives In the next three years, the BWTP network will support the development of the microfinance sector in the Asia region, by developing:
Major goals
Users The BWTP network will target two main groups of users. First, it will benefit Asia-based members (existing and new) who are searching for innovative products and partnerships, dissemination of their achievements, and access to a regional forum for information sharing, scaling up of operations and funding promotion. Second, the Network will reach an outside audience composed of practitioners, banks, governments, funding and research agencies and the general public, who will also benefit from information dissemination, workshops, and the results of action-research activities. Networking: a virtual, decentralised but coordinated process The BWTP Network will minimise costs and increase efficiency with the development of a virtual network, using web and email facilities, and the creation of a parallel decentralised structure to disseminate printed materials. The FDC will continue to house the Network secretariat, while decentralisation will occur progressively with sub-regional facilitators hosted by Network members. Revenues and Sustainability The Network will need a substantial funding assistance over the first three years of existence as an independently run organisation, while the share of external funding to support core Network expenses will diminish over the years. To ensure a growth in cost-recovery over time, the Network will adopt a commercial approach to network management through three strategies:
Moreover, options will be explored in the future for income-generation, such as partnering with donors or investors in implementing financing schemes supporting microfinance providers. Grant seeking and commitment to self-sufficiency To support its new development during the next three years, the BWTP Network needs financial support from international donor (s) and/or investor (s) with a particular interest in providing access to financial services for the Asian poor. Through this financial support, the network will initiate innovative activities with a significant impact on the development of microfinance in Asia and the involvement of commercial banking institutions, particularly in capacity building, information sharing, research and policy development. The grant covers network facilitation and coordination tasks, activity-based costs, governance and FDC management support. Donors could choose to provide partial financial support, directed to a specific program module, a specific region (South or Southeast Asia) or limit their support over time, for example choosing to support either the first year of operations, two or three years. In exchange for grant funding, the BWTP Network commits to the development of alternative sources of funding during the initial phase of new development (3 years), through Network activities and strategic alliances, with the objective of reaching the level of 30% of its core expenses by Year 3. This accumulated internally generated income will constitute a contribution towards long-term sustainability, and will be used to ensure continued operations and core self-sufficiency starting in Year 4. There will be an annual assessment of the Network progress towards self-sufficiency and independence from core-funds donations. |