Position Overview
Position Summary
Women’s World Banking is seeking proposals from qualified research agencies to carry out a market and customer research with focus on understanding how to unlock the opportunities for FSPs in the higher loan ticket size segments for women Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).
Roles and Responsibilities
Women’s World Banking (WWB) is partnering with two financial service providers to expand access to higher-value financial services for women-led micro and small enterprises (WMSEs). As the entrepreneurship landscape evolves in India, there is a visible shift in the aspirations of women entrepreneurs—from managing subsistence-level businesses to growing enterprises that require larger, more complex financial products. Many of these women are now looking beyond ₹5 lakh loans and aiming to graduate toward higher credit brackets that can support scale, diversification, and formalization of their businesses.
Despite various policy instruments such as the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, women's access to larger credit remains limited due to a mix of supply-side constraints (e.g., risk perception, lack of tailored products) and demand-side barriers (e.g., limited awareness, collateral concerns, and lack of handholding).
To address this gap, a study is being commissioned with objectives listed in the next section.
Objectives & Responsibilities
- Assess customer needs, preferences, and challenges in accessing higher ticket-size loans (₹5 lakh to ₹1 crore and beyond).
- Understand awareness and uptake of government guarantee schemes and other formalization mechanisms (e.g., GST, Udyam).
- Generate actionable insights for product development and targeted engagement strategies by the FSPs.
Preferred Qualifications
The assignment will follow a Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method. Agencies must demonstrate:
- Experience in financial sector, customer research
- Gender analysis capabilities
- Familiarity in conducting enterprise surveys
- Agencies with access to sample frames (relevant for this study) will be given preference.
Measure of Success
The agency is expected to carry out quantitative and qualitative survey as well as secondary data collection with a view to:
- Collaborate in designing the quantitative and qualitative questionnaires with WWB and translating it into the local language
- Conducting structured interviews with WMSE customers and applicants across both FSPs:
- Current and prospective women MSME borrowers.
- Approved and rejected women MSME loan applicants.
- Exploring:
- Loan size aspirations and growth orientation
- Govt. scheme awareness and collateral preferences
- Record keeping and business formalization
- Financial/digital literacy, roles in business
- Customer experience with FSP products and processes
Key Research Questions
- What are the current segments of WMSEs in terms of loan size, business formalization, and growth trajectory?
- What barriers prevent graduation from lower to higher loan brackets (₹5–10 lakh to >₹50 lakh)?
- Are there gendered patterns in awareness and uptake of government credit schemes and other enabling mechanisms?
- How do women entrepreneurs weigh trade-offs between collateral-backed loans and guarantee-fee-based products?
- What role do lender behavior, turnaround time, and trust play in customer decision-making?
- What is the potential for product or service innovations to support graduation to higher credit segments?
Suggested Methodology
Quantitative Sample:
- Sample size: 320 WMSE respondents (160 per FSP)
- Stratification:
- 40 respondents per FSP in each of four Tier-1 cities (e.g., Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata)
- Ticket sizes (₹5–10L, ₹10–30L, ₹30–50L, ₹50L–₹1Cr, >₹1Cr)
- Business sector: Manufacturing, retail, services, home-based
The sample ensures geographic spread and adequate representation per institution. The total of 320 respondents is divisible across four cities per FSP (40 per city), enabling granular analysis. The sample size is also validated using a precision-based sampling formula (95% confidence level, 10% margin of error), assumes a design effect of 1.5 to address multilevel sampling and a buffer for some non-response.
Qualitative Sample:
- Sample size: 30 in-depth interviews (15 in each FSP)
- Profile: Mix of formalized/informal, approved/rejected, low/high loan aspirants
- Locations:
- Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Delhi (NCR)
- Interviews based on Tier-1 cities’ digital customer base
Note: This sample size and location details are provisional and will be used for eliciting costing for the procurement. The final sample size will be intimated to the selected agency, and the agency will use the unit cost given in the proposal for any necessary adjustment to the costs prior to the contracting.
Data Collection Methods:
- Quantitative: Structured survey using CAPI tools
- Qualitative: Semi-structured IDIs using digital recordings and transcripts
- Validation workshops with FSP stakeholders
Deliverables:
- Inception Report with Study Plan, Timeline, QA protocol and Survey tools
- Survey Questionnaire Pre-testing Report (with data)
- Final Questionnaire (translated)
- Weekly Survey Progress Report & Weekly Sharing of Raw Data
- Quality Check Report
- Draft Report and PPT summary
- Final Report and Final PPT
How to Apply
Applications must be received no later than June 12, 2025 at midnight GMT.
Please submit your proposal, including but not limited to the following components:
- A brief proposal outlining your capacity to complete this assignment, highlighting relevant experience and similar projects previously completed, along with profiles of the proposed team members.
- Availability and expected monthly rates for the full scope of work
- A shortlist of at least two professional referees whom Women’s World Banking may contact.
Applicants may submit their question(s) in writing until June 9, 2025 to sar@womensworldbanking.org with cc to rdn@womensworldbanking.org . Please include in the e-mail subject line “Questions: Market and Customer Research”.
This RFQ does not guarantee or commit Women’s World Banking to proceeding with the above-described work. Due to the overwhelming responses not all candidates will be contacted.
Women’s World Banking is an equal opportunity employer for all regardless of race, color, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran or reservist status or any other category protected by federal, state or local law.
Women’s World Banking will be unable to contract with any individual who is US citizen or resident without an LLC or LP or similar structure.
About Women's World Banking
We believe in being a force for the greater good, devoted to accelerating and growing the financial inclusion of women. With rapidly changing markets, influenced by technology and social behavioral expectations, we are embarking on a new chapter to transform the way we design and implement solutions.
For over 40 years, Women’s World Banking has partnered with financial institutions, showing them the benefit of investing in women as customers. We equip these institutions with in-depth research and data driven insights to develop financial products and educational programs. While our clients are financial service providers, our mission is to engage consumers – women who are marginalized by financial systems.
Women’s World Banking and WWB Asset Management is an equal employment opportunity for all regardless of race, color, citizenship, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran or reservist status or any other category protected by federal, state or local law.
