- BRAC provides microfinance and social services to improve livelihoods in Bangladesh. It was selected as a case study. - Interviews and observations revealed that BRAC's business model has evolved to provide more financial education through customer service assistants. - This financial literacy is tightly coupled with the knowledge and skills needed for microfinance products and employment, improving its service system core.

1. An Evolving Service System in
Microfinance: A Case Study in
BRAC, Bangladesh
Siddike, Md. Abul Kalam; Kohda, Youji and Hoque, Monirul
School of Knowledge Science
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
07/07/2015

2. Outline
• Research Background
• ASHOKA Fellows Analysis
• BRAC’s Microfinance Case Analysis
• Future Research Directions
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3. 1. Research Background
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4. Our Focused Service System
• SDL can be understood from two point of view, i. e. Behavior and
Structure.
• Resource integration is the center of behavior and service system is
considered as structure.
Value in use/context
Service system
Institutions
Resource integration
Value co-creation
Resource liquidity
Resource density
Behavior
Structure
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5. Our Approach
• There is not so many research in service system in service dominant
logic (SDL) perspective.
• To depict a service system is difficult due to diverse actors. Listing up
diverse actors are very difficult.
• As a result, we will develop a service system through document
analysis and we will validate the service system using a real life case.
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6. Research Objective
• To justify how educational opportunities are tightly coupled with
employment opportunities in the developing countries.
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7. 2. Document Analysis of Ashoka
Fellows
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8. ASHOKA
• Ashoka is the largest network of social
entrepreneurs worldwide.
• There are nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70
countries putting their system changing ideas
into practice on a global scale.
• The description of each case contains
essential information of the essence of
success factor of Social innovation.
• Social innovation is the creating of service
system from the scratch.
• Each follow’s case is written shortly including:
• NTRODUCTION; THE NEW IDEA; THE PROBLEM;
THE STRATEGY ; THE PERSON
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9. Ashoka Fellows
• Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who recognize to
have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to
change patterns across society.
• Ashoka categorizes Fellows broadly into one of six fields of work:
Civic Engagement, Economic Development, Environment, Health,
Human Rights and Learning/Education.
• We selected 17 “Ashoka Fellows” in the field of “Education” in
Bangladesh.
• Even the analysis of 17 cases are considered as good source for the
development of service system theoretical model.
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10. Ashoka Fellows in the Field of Education in
Bangladesh
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Cases Ashoka Fellows Year of election
1 Muhammad Ibrahim Sobhan 1988/1/18
2 Mashuda Khatun Shefali 1990/12/30
3 Mohammaed Serajul Islam (Shaikh) 1992/11/2
4 Samnata Barua 1993/6/29
5 Runa doja Khan 1994/12/6
6 Mahbuba Leena 1994/12/31
7 Mostafa Shiblee 1996/1/13
8 Afsan Chowdhury 1998/1/10
9 Mahabub Zamal Shamim 1998/1/10
10 Fatima Khanam 1998/12/27
11 Shahidul Chowdhury 2001/9/27
12 Quazi Iqbal Sabery 2002/6/16
13 Shamushul Palash 2002/6/16
14 Matin Ahmed 2003/6/25
15 Omar Azad Chowdhury 2004/7/28
16 A.K.M. Masksud 2006/8/6
17 Munir Hasan 2008/8/18

11. Brief Description of Cases
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Case (Ashoka fellow) Problem statement
1 Munir Hasan Mathematics as an optional selection in eleven and twelve grade cause problems in further science related graduation level
2 A.K.M Maksud Bede community is deprived from the socio-economic benefits and voting rights in Bangladesh as they are not recognized indigenous minority
3 Omar Azad ChowdhuryChildren have less attraction and fear in learning science
4 Matin Ahmed
The standard of English and IT in state run school system is poor and college and university students have less confidence in these which become barrier in getting better
employment opprtunities
5 Quazi Iqbal Sabery children have less opprtunity outside the classroom to utilize their time in creative activities in rural areas
6 Shamsul Palash University students are involving in party politics which creates violence and distraction from education
7 Shahidul Chowdhury learning computers is not available in rural areas
8 Fatima Khanam
lack opportunities particularly for rural women to have professional education and skills necessary for securing positions in government, business and social sectors
9 Afsan Chowdhury
sex education is very sensitive topic where parents and teachers usually do not share with the youth community, increasing sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases
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Mahabub Zamal
Shamim
gradual disappearance in cultural identity specially in children in rural areas
11 Mostafa Shiblee
Many Bangladeshi students abandon their studies, fall into drug abuse, become involved in violent political confrontations because educational system fails to provide
creative and engaging alternatives regarding the pressing social and economic development issues.
12 Mahbuba Leena
Women in Bangladesh are poor and disadvantaged than men. Women who are working in brothel as a sex worker, factory worker, domestic helpers cannot give better
environment for education and social norms
13 Runa Doja Khan
The education system in Bangladesh is very outdated. The performance of the students becoming less creative because the due to lack of user-friendly and goal oriented
text-books and education system.
14 Samanta Barua
The educational system in Bangladesh does not concentrate on the literacy of adult population and these part of population demands education with vocational training
which they can use in their daily life, which is still lack in community based educational system.
15
Mohammad Sirajul
Islam (Shaikh)
The population density is very high in Bangladesh and this will be doubled until 2020. The insecurity of food, especially nutrition riched food, is increasing which causes
malnutrition in future generation. The small land of community people are not effectively used due to lack of agricultural technical skills where they can cultivate food items
for themselves and also for extra income generation.
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Mashuda Khatun
Shefali
Illiterate and poor rural women is migrating to capital city working in factories cannot afford housing with well sanitation. They are also facing difficulties in coping with the
daily requirements due to low salary. They are also facing sexual abuse, acid burnings, kidnap, rape etc.
17
Muhammad Ibrahim
Sobhan
Education system in Bangladesh seems luxurious and expensive for the poor and landless families. Children from landless families either never enter the schools or dropout
well before they become functionally literate.

12. Educational Service System in Developing
Countries: A Theoretical Model
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13. Finding from Document Analysis
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Employment
opportunity
Employment
opportunity
Tightly
Coupled
• Employment opportunity is
tightly coupled with
educational opportunity in
the developing countries.

14. 3. BRAC, Bangladesh: Case
Analysis
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15. BRAC, Bangladesh
• BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) is one of the
biggest and successful NGOs in Bangladesh.
• BRAC provides a range of microfinance services to the poverty people
including microloans, savings, insurance and social services.
• Why we select BRAC as a case? Because BRAC not only provides
financial services but also provides a series of social services to build
livelihoods, boost consumption and improve well-being through
creating self-employment.
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16. Research Methodology
• Adopt qualitative case study by interview.
• Interviews with 11 employees and 14 customers from BRAC from 17th
of December 2014 to January 2015.
• Direct observation of Village Organization meetings, and financial
education program.
• Analyze the data qualitatively (thematically).
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17. Results of Case Analysis
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Introduced Financial
literacy through
Customer Service
Assistant (CSA)Customer
PO/BM
Advice and
monitoring
CSA
Financial
education
Information
Exchange
Previous Business Model
PO/BM Customer
Advice and
Monitoring
PO: Program Organizer
BM: Branch Manager
Current business model

18. Work↔Money
Necessary
knowledge & skills
necessary to
learning ↔ micro
finance items
Poor
people
Existing education
Financial Literacy +
Knowledge and skills of
work We need to micro-
finance products
Knowledge and skills
Advance
education
Existing
education
opportunity
Microfinance
Products
BRAC
Learning ↔ basic
knowledge and
skills
Investment↔Loan
Service system core
Core Resources
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19. An Evolving Service System in Microfinance
PP
VO
PO
4 times/
Monthly
Institutions
Structure
PP: Poverty
people
VO: Village
organization
PO: Program
organization
CSA: Customer
service assistant
PP
VO
PO CSA
1 time/
Monthly
Pre-disbursement
orientation for every
customer;
4 days financial
education
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Previously Currently

20. Conclusion
• Education is tightly coupled with employment opportunities to
conduct social innovation in the developing countries.
• The evolving service system model will add a body of knowledge in
the service science discipline.
• Social enterprises from all over the world can adopt the service
system model modifying in the local settings.
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21. Thank you very much for your kind attention
Questions or comments, Please
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