This impact evaluation assesses the attributable impact that Building Assets, Unlocking Access has had on improving a range of outcomes for clients of Kenya Women Microfinance Bank (KWFT) who have accessed the Nyumba Smart Loan, a housing microfinance product developed as part of the project.
Building Assets, Unlocking Access is a six-year project to provide technical assistance to six leading financial institutions in Uganda and Kenya as they develop housing microfinance products and nonfinancial support services for people living on US$5-10 per day.
The aim is to enable these people to secure adequate and affordable housing and improve their living conditions progressively with small, short-term loans that have affordable payment schedules, allowing them to complete incremental construction on their homes.
Intervention description
This report provides an overview of the implementing context and an outline of the project’s theory of change; a description of the sampling frame, sample size and methodology used to conduct the impact evaluation; an analysis of the project’s results, focusing on the impact achieved on the project’s indicators; and conclusions on the impact of the housing microfinance loans in the lives of Nyumba Smart Loan customers.
Evidence methodology
To identify the impact of the Nyumba Smart Loan on households, the programme assessed a counterfactual to examine what would have happened to the households in the treatment group had they not received treatment. The evaluation team used the "difference-in-differences" method and complemented it with propensity score matching to ensure that credible results of impact could still be produced while the parallel trend assumption is supported.