Opportunity Fund
Scale-up Strategy:
Increasing the size of their potential market by expanding presence and penetration, and leveraging strategic partnerships to acquire new clients |
- Continue to build partnerships, including with high-quality technical assistance organizations, local chambers of commerce, and other strategic partners.
- Increase the size of their potential market by expanding their presence and penetration in San Francisco and Alameda counties.
- Increase market research to gain a deeper knowledge of the local population and provide targeted marketing efforts.
Progress Update as of May 2009:
The Opportunity Fund worked on geographic expansion and market research to expand the size of its potential market: |
- Completed initial market research that analyzed the socio-economic, geographic, ethnic, and psychographic characteristics of successful clients.
- Increased by almost 20 percent the number of loans made in their new service area of San Francisco and Alameda counties.
- Almost doubled the number of low-income entrepreneurs in San Francisco and Alameda counties who are receiving some level of business advice and technical assistance.
- Collaborated with the National Holistic Institute in Berkeley, Calif. to provide loans and coaching to a massage therapy business client.
- Collaborated with Infini8 Sync, a music business consultancy that is an Opportunity Fund borrower, to identify referrals to artists in their network.
Background:
Largest microfinance institution in the Bay Area and largest provider of IDA accounts in the nation; certified CDFI focusing on microloans, IDAs and real-estate finance.
Core Microenterprise Services: |
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Credit builder and microloans
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Individualized technical assistance
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Financial education and IDAs
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Business training
Highlights:
In 2004, began a concerted effort to the increase number of microloan clients served; grew from 30 loans in 2004 to 184 in 2007. By expanding microlending activities to San Francisco and Alameda counties, loan volume continued to grow. In FY2007 approximately 40 percent of new loans were originated in the expanded service areas. Currently mid-way through a market research project that will provide the data necessary to continue future outreach efforts.
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Current Scale:
FY2006: 225 clients and 120 microloans
FY2007: 378 clients and 184 microloans FY2008: 450 clients and 148 microloans
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Scale Projections:
FY2009: 565 clients and 120 loans
FY2010: 587 clients and 180 loans |
Learning Questions:
Marketing effectiveness: What can we learn from others about recruiting clients, how to approach specific industries and ethnic communities?
Microlending systems: What types of systems - loan processing software, customer relationship management, systems for integrating data collection and community impact - are others using and what is their experience?
Staff capacities and organization: What are the right staff skills, hiring strategies, organizational strategies that are needed to build an efficient and sustainable staff team moving forward?
Increasing efficiency: Do we gain more efficiency in underwriting and back-office operations?
