One moment stood out for me as emblematic of the role of carbon in microfinance. Finca had already started marketing solar home systems to its clients. To receive credit for the carbon offset for these systems, we needed to collect the gps location and have the client sign the title to the carbon offset to Finca. I asked the project manager, whether the client would be willing to sign the title paperwork, given the system was already in place. She went in the house with the client, the owner of a privately-owned boarding school, and when they came out she had the signature. She said that he was so happy that someone had come to check on the system, that he was more than happy to sign the paperwork. Although the system was functioning properly, he needed assistance with the connection to the computer he was using and eventually decided to put the lights in the children’s dormitories.
By linking the carbon revenues to an ongoing monitoring process, the MEC process creates an incentive for ongoing customer service and relationship building. This has the potential to provide great value to the microenterpreneurs, that will ultimately pay off in improved client acquisition and profitability for the MFI as well.
