How can microfinance reach greater scale and improve operational efficiency? This question has haunted the microfinance industry for several years and various initiatives have been tested in order to answer it. One of these initiatives is the use of client-focused technologies to improve the outreach and performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) as these technologies create new distribution channels and can lower the transactional costs of these institutions.

In order to understand the potential use of client-focused technologies for microfinance, this study examines three types of client-focused technologies, which are defining the current technological efforts in the microfinance industry: personal digital assistants (PDAs), point-of-sale (POS) devices, and cell phones. Through a series of examples from different parts of the world,F1F the study outlines approaches to consider when examining the adoption of client-focused technologies in the daily operations of MFIs.

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