Contents

A brief Introduction of the Organization & How it Works............2

Akhuwat & Process Perspective of Services Marketing: (People Processing,
Possession Processing, Mental Stimulus Processing or Information Processing?):
........................................................................................................................... 3

7 Ps of Services & Akhuwat Foundation....................................4

The Three Stage Model of Service Consumption........................7
Pre-Purchase Stage:............................................................................................ 7
Service Encounter Stage:................................................................................... 8
Post Encounter Stage:........................................................................................ 9

The Flower of Service................................................................9

Facilitating Supplementary Services of AKHUWAT (Non Profitable Organization):
........................................................................................................................... 9
Enhancing Supplementary Services of AKHUWAT:............................................11

Distribution of Services...........................................................13
What is Distributed? :....................................................................................... 14
How is it Distributed? :..................................................................................... 15

The Marketing Communications Mix for Akhuwat foundation. .16

Current Position:............................................................................................... 17
Recommendations:........................................................................................... 18
A Final Word on Akhuwats Marketing Communication Mix & How to Better
Utilize it:........................................................................................................... 22

The Process (Service Process).................................................22

Final Word................................................................................ 26

A brief Introduction of the Organization & How it Works

The idea of Akhuwat Foundation was unearthed for the very first time
during a dinner time conversation between friends from civil services.
Akhuwat started with group lending and today it has progressed onto
individual lending while the main customer of this being the household
units. Akhuwat is actually a unique microfinance system that works on
interest free basis and the funds received back are recycled. Loans are
provided to under-banked borrowers for a number of reasons including up
gradation of residential facilities, marriages, education and at times, to
pay back loan-sharks. However throughout this, Akhuwat's has always
mainly emphasized on enterprise or business loans. The reason for this
emphasis is a belief that such loans have a huge effect on the society's
socioeconomic development; working as a tool these loans empower
poverty-ridden households to move up the socio-economic ladder and to
improve their living standards. These enterprise or business loans
currently cover more than 90 % of Akhuwat Foundation's current
outstanding portfolio.
While the organisation depends mainly on volunteers to run day to day
activities, an ideal social enterprise like Akhuwat employs a healthy and
balanced mixture of both volunteerism and reparation. The top and the
middle management staff is more or less entirely composed of volunteers
whereas only the junior staff - who come from the same communities as
most of the borrowers - are paid market compensations. Akhuwat differs
from a classic MFI on nearly every account, but the biggest difference is in
its philosophies. While any other microfinance institute is built principally
as a 'business' that 'sells', Akhuwats philosophy hinges on answering the
obtrusive illogicality that exists within the microfinance framework, where
the truly marginalised in the society - and in effect those who actually
deserve financial access the most - are ostracised and restricted by the
unbearably high interest rates that accompanies these loans.

While a regular MFI encourages their clients to climb up the loan ladder to
borrow in turn larger sums, Akhuwat attempts to help its borrowers
become better off so that they could graduate on to regular banks as soon
as they have outgrown Akhuwat's scale of lending, thus Akhuwat's job is
to process clients and in due course pass them on to conventional banking
thus overlooking the benefit of holding them for their own recurring
profits.
In the last 10 years, Akhuwat Foundation has managed to open 169
branches in 116 cities and small towns (mainly low income localities), with
ever increasing focus on the smaller towns and cities of Punjab, Khyber
Pakhtunkhuwa and Sindh. The total amount of struggling households that
have been helped back to their feet during this time is more than 0.3
million, while the total amount of credit expenditure as of today stands at
around PKR 4.5 billion. The Akhuwat Foundation's outstanding loan
portfolio is approximately PKR 1.5 billion while the recovery rate is at an
exceptional 99.8 percent.
The organisation's organic, 'back to the basics' approach towards
management allows it to have the lowest operational cost in the sector.
Office furniture is kept to a bare least and all top-management activities
are carried out while seated on the floor. Additionally the Akhuwat
foundation's operations are increasingly becoming self-sufficient, with the
MDP (Member donor programme) currently financing more than 60
percent of all operating costs.
Akhuwat Foundations mission is
To

alleviate

marginalized
harnessing

poverty
families

by

empowering

through

entrepreneurial

interest

potential,

socially
free

capacity

and

economically

microfinance
building

and

and

by

social

guidance.

Akhuwat & Process Perspective of Services Marketing:

(People Processing, Possession Processing, Mental Stimulus
Processing or Information Processing?):
When we talk about services we often encounter situation where we are to
define and address the question that what is being processed in this whole
scenario. In any services offering people, physical objects, and data can
be processed and the nature of the processing can be tangible or
intangible. In people processing oriented services people often sought out
services that are directed at themselves and thus they are required to
enter the service process themselves in order to receive the required
services. In possession processing the customers are interested in
processing of their possessions and thus transformation of these
possessions into desired forms. In case of mental stimulus processing
services are normally directed at peoples minds thus enhancing their
understanding and their knowledge. Finally information processing just
like mental stimulus processing enables a person to make better decisions
based on the information provided by the requested services. It is due to
this similarity between mental stimulus processing and information
processing that they are often combined and are termed as information
based processing.
When we consider Akhuwat Foundation and when we talk about the type
of processing that takes place in this situation we might face conflicting
viewpoints as some might term it as people processing while others might
have

totally

different

perspective

in

this

regard.

As

per

our

understanding the microfinance and loan services offered by Akhuwat

Foundation are mainly people processing as they are aimed at helping low
income households and help these low income households in transforming
their lives and thus changing their economic position. However a thin line
cannot be drawn in case of the services offered by Akhuwat Foundation as
at some stages information based processing is usually also involved.
Typically when the loan process starts a people processing is initiated and
subsequently other processing also gets initiated with the continuation of
4

the process. However as mentioned earlier that the aim of Akhuwats

services is to enhance the living standards of low income generating
members of the community and thus to transform their lives so that they
are better able to work independently and to improve their earning. It is
due to this mantra of Akhuwat Foundation that we are of the view that the
services offered by Akhuwat Foundation mainly cover the people
processing aspect as mentioned in the process perspective of services.

7 Ps of Services & Akhuwat Foundation

In case of services we extend our traditional 4Ps of marketing mix to add
3 more Ps and thus we term it as 7Ps of services marketing. These are
product, price, place, promotion, process, physical environment and
people. A brief introduction of the 7 Ps of services offered by Akhuwat
Foundation is provided below:
1. Product: Akhuwat provides loan services to households at zero
percent interest rate. It is evidently the only microfinance institute
that is successfully working as a non-profit organization. The
microfinance products offered by Akhuwat Foundation comprise of
family enterprise loan, liberation loan, education loan, health loan,
emergency loan, housing loan and marriage loan. In addition to
these loan services Akhuwat also works in various other projects but
considering the main focus of Akhuwat on enterprise and business
loans we will focus our attention to this specific loan services
throughout this project. However it is appropriate to mention here
that most of the loan services provided by Akhuwat follow the same
process and procedures with very few adjustments. The family
enterprise or business loans are sanctioned for establishing or
expanding a business that can help low income households in
ensuring and securing a sustainable livelihood. These loans normally
range from Rs. 10,000 to 30,000.

2. Place & Time: Akhuwat Foundation has presence in almost 207

cities and towns of Pakistan with almost 302 branches. These setups
are established in localities with low income households that might
be in need of loans offered by Akhuwat Foundation. The organization
mostly uses the mosques or churches for carrying out its activities
with the motive of using these religious establishments for social
improvement.

Introductory

sessions

are

organized

to

create

awareness about the services offered by Akhuwat Foundation and

once an individual shows interest in borrowing money from
Akhuwat, it normally takes 3 months before a decision is reached
regarding sanctioning of requested loans.
3. Price: The major attractiveness of the loan services offered by
Akhuwat Foundation is that it offers loans to low income households
at zero percent interest rate and that too without any requirement of
collateral. The only amount that is charged from an applicant is of
Rs. 100 that is charged as the application fee from the applicant. No
other amount is to be paid by the applicant against his loan or his
application for loan.
4. Promotion: Akhuwat mainly relies on positive word of mouth
promotion made by its previous borrowers. It organizes various
introductory sessions in mosques or churches of different low
income localities and creates awareness regarding the loan services
offered by the organization. In these sessions mainly previous
borrowers are invited to share their experiences with the local
community. For donations Akhuwat relies mainly on its presence
over the internet and also organizes various events to stay
connected with its regular donors.
5. Process: The loan disbursement process is initiated with the
submission of an application by the prospective borrower. Once an
application is received, it is evaluated and a decision is reached with
an approval or rejection of the request. The details of the complete
6

process have been presented in the last part of the report. The
whole process involves an active participation of the applicant or the
borrower and he is required to remain in continuous touch with the
organization.
6. Physical Environment: As also mentioned earlier that Akhuwat
mainly uses local area mosques or churches for carrying out its
activities and this means that the physical surrounding of the
service area is kept simple. Even the offices of Akhuwat are quite
simple and those who visit Akhuwat Offices have to sit on the floor
along with the organizations representatives. The purpose of
keeping the ambience simple is to keep any unnecessary costs at a
minimum level.
7. People: The staff that is mainly involved in directly dealing with the
prospective borrowers is mainly from the same locality. This is done
to ensure that the individual that visits Akhuwats office for loan
purposes feels at ease and is able to interact openly with the person
in order to remove an doubts that he might have regarding the loan
services offered by Akhuwat. On the other hand, the main office
staff and the top management of Akhuwat is well reputed and is
respected by all and thus adds to the fairness of the whole system.
Now we will cover various aspects of the loan services offered by
Akhuwat Foundation while focusing only on the major content that
we have studied in services marketing course and is applicable on
the loan services offered by Akhuwat Foundation.

The Three Stage Model of Service Consumption

Pre-Purchase Stage:

Need Awareness: The need in people for getting micro loans from
organizations arises due to the suffering people face because of
different circumstances, such as poor living conditions, inability to
fulfill basic necessities and also due to non-availability of resources
needed to run a business even at smaller levels so they could keep
their lives going. In this case need for Akhuwats services arises due
to financial constraints and resource limitations faced by low income
households. The provision of Interest-Free loan and that too without
any collateral required from Akhuwat is the reason why low income
households seem more interested in availing Akhuwats services
because people hesitate in taking loans from the companies and
banks who charge interests on their loans.

This hesitation also

arises due to the non Shariah compliance of these loans because

they are based on interest which is prohibited in Islam as well as
because of the high interest rates and other hidden terms and
conditions which people think might create serious problems for

them in future.
Information Search: After the arousal of this need in people, they
look for the solutions that can satisfy their need and then they
search for the organizations which provide loans (micro as well as
macro loans). Other alternatives will also come into loan seekers
mind such as borrowing money from their friends and family or from
some person on some interest rate. These alternatives are then

evaluated before a final choice is made.

Evaluating Alternatives: This service covers experience attributes
as it does not have any tangible characteristics, so the attributes
cannot be evaluated before experiencing it such as the reliability of
the service and ease of getting the loan from the company.
When evaluating such loan service it often includes the perceived
risk for the borrower in case if he is taking the loan on some rate of
interest from some organization or from number of alternatives such
8

as the over and above amount (interest) on the principal amount

and also the risk that the person might face difficulty in returning
the loan at the specified interest rate and might have its collateral
on stake. At this stage it is easy for the person to go out and select
the organization which is giving loan without any interest and is
Shariah compliant and Akhuwat is the organization which fulfills
these aspects as it includes very minimal risk as there is as such no
collateral on stake and the lender demands zero interest on the loan
so the person makes a purchase decision of the service.

Service Encounter Stage:

Purchase Decision: Akhuwat generally fulfils all the aspects of persons
perceived or desired service by providing interest free loans and that too
on easy long term instalments without the requirement of pledging any
collateral from the person who is willing to take loan from Akhuwat. So the
person makes a final purchase decision of getting a loan from Akhuwat as
it is without any doubt the best solution to his financial needs (especially
for low-income households).
After the purchase decision or finalizing the alternative from which to get
this service, the person now gets in contact with the service provider and
in this case the person goes to its respective area branch of Akhuwat in
order to apply for the loan (service). The person gets in direct interaction
with the employee of the service provider and the person is required to fill
the application form which is basically designed to gather the important
information. The application for loan is then further processed through
different channels such as background check of the applicant etc. in order
to find out whether the applicant is eligible to receive the loan or not. The
whole process from applying for the loan to the payment of loan to the
eligible applicant involves many steps by the company and involves a
longer time frame.
High Contact Service: The service which Akhuwat is providing is a high
contact service because the customer exposure to the service provider
9

involves a longer time frame and steps and takes on a physical and
tangible nature

as the customer visits the Akhuwat office in order to

apply for the loan and gets in direct interaction with the employee and
tells the employee his/her reason of applying for loan and when the
Akhuwat gives the loan after going through a process they give that loan
to the borrower in a loan disbursement ceremony and when the borrower
submits his instalment of loan , he again has to visit the office in order to
submit the instalment. Further Akhuwat is thoroughly involved in ensuring
due usage of the funds being disbursed as loan to the individual thus
making this whole scenario a process where the service provider and the
service receiver are in close contact with each other.

Post Encounter Stage:

People after using the service or after encountering with the service make
some sort of judgment about the service based on their experiences with
the service and these experiences can be unsatisfactory or delightful.
According to the above scenario this whole process of people taking the
loans from Akhuwat without any interest and without putting anything on
stake as a collateral and then repaying the loan on easy monthly
instalments brings satisfaction to many borrowers and is often considered
to be of more good than their expectations. Apart from the loan, the
organization (Akhuwat) makes a long lasting bond with their borrowers by
giving them consultation and inviting them to different community events.
The high satisfaction level of the borrower proves out to be a beneficial
factor in the improvement of their financial condition. The borrower by
himself does the word of mouth marketing by sharing with others about
the positive experiences he had with the service which ultimately brings
more people to come forward and use the service.

10

The Flower of Service

Facilitating Supplementary
Profitable Organization):

Services

of

AKHUWAT

(Non

Information:
Akhuwat basically provides interest-free micro loans which is their core
service. If we talk about information as a facilitating supplementary
service it includes various information that is provided by Akhuwat such as
direction to its different locations, area branches and the offices to which
people can go and get the application forms for micro loans and other
important information needed to adopt for the process of applying for
loans or key lending methodologies such as:

Program Introduction: (brief introduction of what the program is all

about
Individuals Selection: (how one individual is selected , the eligibility

or selection criteria for the micro loan).

Preparation of Business Plans.
Credit Appraisal: (how the credit check is done of the person who

would apply for the loan).

Guarantors of Loans.
Credit Disbursement/Capacity Building.
Recovery/Follow up: (and how to repay the loan in installments).

This information is provided on Akhuwats website as well as people can

get this information by meeting the employees working in the Akhuwats
area branches.
The information or assistance on how to start a small business which the
borrower has planned to do is also given, which is counted as a facilitating
supplementary service of AKHUWAT in addition to its core service or
product.
Order-taking:

11

Akhuwat has designed an application form which requires prospective

applicants to go through an application process designed to gather
relevant information and to screen out those who do not meet the criteria
for receiving loans because of the bad credit record etc. These forms are
available in each of the area branches in different locations of different
cities for the purpose to take orders of people who are willing to apply for
the micro loans and those applications are then further processed through
different channels in order to finalize the applicants eligibility to receive
the loans. The filled applications with documents are recorded manually in
the registers as well as in the computers for the sake of company record.
Billing:
Akhuwat have no billing charges for their service because of its non-profit
existence and the intentions of working for the alleviation of poverty
instead of earning profits. Akhuwat only charges a minimal fee of Rs. 100
for its application form or to bear the expenses of application process.
They make a manual hand written receipt for this application fee.

Payment:
The payment process in terms of the application for services is very fast
because the fee Akhuwat charges for their application form is very
minimal i.e. Rs100 and applicants do not find any difficulty to pay this fee,
so they pay the application fee on the spot without any delay.

On the

other hand in terms of the organization the payment procedure or the

disbursement of loans is always done in sacred places like Mosques and
Churches which instils a sense of more liability on the borrower to repay
the loan. This is possibly one of the reasons that the company has 99.8%
recovery rate. The borrowers repay the loans in instalments like if the
person has taken loan of amount Rs10,000, his loan will be divided into 12
instalments (one year) and he will then have to submit the monthly

12

instalment accordingly to their respective Akhuwat area branch or to the

organization account in any Habib bank limited branch.

Enhancing Supplementary Services of AKHUWAT:

Consultation:
It involves detailed comprehensive information to the applicants queries
and the people who are willing to apply for the loan rather than a brief
short response or printed information to the customer query that
anticipates their needs. It usually involves a two way communication
between the Akhuwat representative (employee) and the applicant and in
Akhuwat this is widely done. A walk-in person who is wishing to apply for a
loan shares his business idea or plan with Akhuwat employee and the
employee then helps him to modify his idea or helps him in other possible
manner, gives him consultation regarding his business idea and how to
implement his idea effectively and make it more constructive. In this
aspect even after the borrowers of Akhuwat start their own businesses,
the organization gives them technical consulting in terms of vocational
training sessions which helps the borrowers in their skill development.
The organization adopts a principle which is based on not making the
people dependent, the organization wants the people who borrow from
them to stand on their own feet and one day become donors themselves
for others in need. So for this they are guiding people and are supporting
people and thus instil a value to help others after their own needs are
fulfilled.
Hospitality:
In Akhuwat hospitality is not considered to be as a great enhancing
supplementary service to its core service in routine because it is a nonprofit organization and mostly run on donations, so they hardly spend any
thing on hospitality. The area offices (branches) are very simple. Akhuwat
has built their offices either inside the mosques or just outside the
13

mosques to maintain the simplicity and to save themselves from the high
operational costs, they do not have any chairs in the offices, both the
employees and the people (borrowers and applicants ) have to sit on the
floor and they do not offer any kind of beverages apart from water and try
to focus on their core service which is to provide interest free micro loans
to the needy and deserving people. Even the people are not bothered of
the hospitality factor, they are just concerned about getting a loan from
the organizations which is the only thing of great importance for them.
Apart from this, most of the times whenever AKHUWAT has its loan
disbursement ceremony, they treat their borrowers and their families and
friends with great hospitality as sometimes the loan disbursement
ceremony is arranged with a big carnival for the borrowers children and
also lunch boxes are distributed to the borrowers after the loan
disbursement ceremony to create a sense of brotherhood and to let the
borrowers know that the organization is not just focused to give loans but
also to share happiness and sense of affiliation among the community. The
organization also provides pick and drop service to the borrowers for the
event.
Exceptions:
Akhuwat helps its eligible applicants to find other people who are also
wishing to apply for a loan because the organization gives loan to groups
(forming of 4 applicants) instead to a single applicant because they then
become guarantors of each other so if an applicant finds it difficulty in
finding more people to form a group, the organization helps the individual
in resolving this matter. Another exception to the main service is that they
also arrange vocational training sessions for the skill development of the
borrowers and also help the borrowers in starting their business by giving
suggestions or telling them different ways through which they can do their
business effectively as the organization focuses on the alleviation of
poverty by empowering the people. Apart from this, most of the times
whenever AKHUWAT has its loan disbursement ceremony, they treat their
14

borrowers and their families and friends with great hospitality and give
them a very warm welcome as sometimes the loan disbursement
ceremony is arranged with a big carnival for the borrowers children and
also lunch boxes are distributed to the borrowers after the loan
disbursement ceremony to create a sense of brotherhood among the
community and to let the borrowers know that the organization is not just
focused to give loans but also to share happiness and sense of affiliation
among the community. The organization also provides pick and drop
service to the borrowers for the event.
The organization takes the complaints of the borrowers seriously and
works on resolving the issues of the borrowers so that they do not have to
face the problems in future.

Distribution of Services
Distribution mechanism plays an important role in deciding the success or
failure of any market offering. When it comes to distribution of a service
offering this becomes even more crucial and the possibilities of failure
increase if the distribution is not maintained at an appropriate level.
Akhuwat Foundation has a wide network of 302 branches in 207 cities and
towns of Pakistan. It uses its local offices and mosques or churches for
introducing its offerings to the low income households. The whole process
is of high contact in nature where representative of Akhuwat Foundation
and the borrower remains in continuous contact with each other for
ensuring the successful achievement of the purpose for which the loan
was sanctioned. The simplicity of the system and the whole process
makes it so easy to understand for any layman but despite this the
success of Akhuwat speaks for itself.
Though there is not much to share about the distribution system of the
services offered by Akhuwat due to its over simplicity however we will
present an overview here. (Details overlap with the other information that

15

has been provided in this report therefore has not been mentioned to
avoid repetition).

What is Distributed? :
1. Information and Promotion Flow: Akhuwat Foundation organizes
various introductory sessions in low income localities where the
audience is introduced with the services being offered by the
organization. These sessions normally take place in mosques or
churches after prayers and normally the previous borrowers of
Akhuwat loans are invited to share their experiences with the local
community. Apart from this when an interested borrower visits
Akhuwats facility he is provided complete guidance about the
available loan and the application process. Also he is provided
complete assistance in preparing a viable plan and an effective
application for the loan. Similarly information flow also takes place
once the loan has been disbursed in order to ensure that the
borrower is better able to reap maximum benefit out of the loan that
he has received. This information is either in the form of skill
enhancement training or in the form of personal counseling.
From donors perspective information flow takes place when the
prospective owners are provided audit and performance reports,
borrower profiles and details, activity reports etc. mostly through
the organizations availability over the internet or through the events
exclusively organized for donors. This all adds to the credibility of
the organization and thus the success of Akhuwat suggests that this
also enables a continuous flow of donations from all over the world.
2. Negotiation Flow: When it comes to negotiating the application,
the representatives from Akhuwat provide necessary advisory and
counseling services to the prospective borrower while preparing a
viable business plan. The sole purpose of negotiations in this case is
not to get maximum benefit from the provision of services but what
Akhuwat attempts to achieve is the maximum benefit for the
prospective borrower so that he can utilize the sanctioned funds in
best possible manner.
16

3. Product Flow: The product i.e. the loan approved by Akhuwat

Foundation after necessary evaluation and assessment is disbursed
in a special event where around 100-150 borrowers are given their
requested loans. This ceremony takes place in the presence of local
community members and takes place in Akhuwats Office or in a
mosque or church. It is the point at which the actual flow of the
product takes place.

How is it Distributed? :
Akhuwat with its nationwide presence ensures the distribution of loans to
those who are in need of it. Throughout the process both the applicant
and the representatives from Akhuwat remain in close contact with each
and interact on number of occasions. The whole service offering takes
place in such a way that at one moment the organization (service
provider) goes to the customer (borrower) and on the other instance the
customer goes to the organization for the needed assistance. The process
in terms of nature of interaction between the borrower and Akhuwat
Foundation can be seen below:

17

Step
1

Akhuwat goes to customer (prosepective) for awareness of

the services provided by the organization.

Step
2

Customer goes to Akhuwat for more information and

application submission.

Step
3

Customer goes to Akhuwat(though in actual both customer

and organization go to a community gathering) for loan
disbursement in a special event.

Step
4

Customer goes to Akhuwat for capacity and skills building

training.

Step
5

Akhuwat representative visits the customer for monitoring

the performance.

Step
6

Customer goes to Akhuwat's office (or interacts remotely

through bank branch) for submission of monthly
instalments.

The Marketing Communications Mix for Akhuwat

foundation
The communication mix is a term used for the combination of promotion
tools. Marketers try to find the right balance between all the different
ways of marketing communication. The marketing budget has a huge
impact on this marketing mix. NGOs without budget have a totally
different mix than multinationals with millions to spend on promotion. The
right mix will also depend on the target and the strategy of an
organization.
18

Current Position:
Means of Advertisements for Akhuwat Foundation are the marketing
strategies focusing on sending message to reach out to the sponsors for
their generous donations and at the same time identifying and attracting
potential beneficiaries through media and public gatherings. Over all,
Akhuwat Foundation has managed to ensure its presence on every media
occasionally but their activity level is pretty much dull. There can be seen
very less frequent talks about them in print and electronic media. They
have their account on social mediums like Facebook, Instagram etc. but
they are not actively managed which can be due to multiple theoretical
reasons like no specially dedicated teams to handle every media or
negating the importance of it in this time. Their corporate website seems
like giving every bit of information about them and their offerings as well
as their activities in public forums and annual gatherings but it is also not
actively updated as even the newsletters are shown to be published every
month but were published till June on their website for this year. They hold
internal events including workshops, seminars, conferences, Public/Donor
Events and Beneficiaries training events to train them for their future
prospects in this field but none of them can be seen without accessing
their website thus clearly depicting lack of publicizing and advertising
themselves. The need is to focus on the areas where a greater
concentration is required as being involved in a business though nonprofit, they need to market themselves.
The current tools of marketing being utilized by Akhuwat Foundation are:
Print & Electronic Media.
Business Magazines.
Newsletters.
Social Media.
Facebook.
Twitter.
LinkedIn.
Instagram.
19

Corporate Website.
akhuwat.org.pk.
Public Forums.
Educational Institutions.
Workshops, seminars, conferences.
Public/Donor Events.
Beneficiaries training events.
Annual Gatherings.
Information sessions by CEO.
Occasional appearance of Public representatives.
Special Events (for Donors)
Word of Mouth.
Letters and memos of communication to donors and sponsors.

Recommendations:

Online and media strategies to market the programs,

activities and campaigns.

Above the Line Advertising or Below the Line? :
o There are a number of approaches to promotion that are open
to organizations. Above-the-line promotions use mass media
methods. This type of promotion focuses on advertising to a
large audience. It includes print, online media, television and
cinema advertising. Making a message memorable to a large
audience is not always easy. It is difficult to tailor a promotion
to a specific group of consumers through above-the-line
promotions. This is because it is viewed by a mass audience
with different tastes and needs. Above-the-line promotion is
also very expensive but effective.
Below-the-line methods are very

specific,

memorable

activities focused on targeted groups of consumers. They are

under the control of the organisation. Akhuwat Foundation can
use these techniques to target clearly defined consumer
groups rather than a mass audience like its above-the-line
activity. The purpose of these activities has been to develop

the brand by creating awareness and building a brand profile.

Below-the-line methods include:
Sponsorship
Sales promotions
Public relations
20

Personal selling
Direct marketing.
Though Akhuwat Foundation is engaged in developing strong
PR as its main functions heavily rely on this source but again
they have to keep on improvising it by bringing in new people
for this purpose who can further engage in an indirect selling
as a noble cause.

Sponsorship and Social Media:

Sponsorships have helped the organizations to raise their profile amongst
key target markets. Sponsorship involves positioning and matching brands
together. It develops a relationship that is both comfortable and positive
for

both

businesses.

Traditional press releases work alongside newer forms of marketing. For

example, Akhuwat Foundation can use digital and social media as an
integral part of its below-the-line activity. This helps to create relationships
with

customers

online.

These

channels

include

blogs

and

social

networking sites (such as Facebook) where they are already present.

Akhuwat Foundation also has its own YouTube channel along with
presence on Instagram and Twitter but their activity level is dull which
needs to be focused on to emphasize its brand presence amongst target
consumers. This can enable them to develop eCRM, allowing Akhuwat
Foundation to collect data from customers and use it in a variety of ways
for interaction. It also helps to create the basis for viral marketing. This is
when messages are so widely received that they are passed on either
electronically or by word of mouth to other customers.
Akhuwat Foundation can also support a variety of environmental issues,
shown through below-the-line promotions. For example, Akhuwat can work
in partnerships with independent environmental charities that aim to
create social cohesion by inspiring people to plant and love trees.
Environmental issues are high on public agenda. Partnerships like these

21

are an important way for Akhuwat Foundation to demonstrate its

commitment to supporting public concerns.

Print and Broadcast Media:

Utilizing this media effectively can bring in a good value for Akhuwat
Foundation. They are currently having their newsletters printed but they
are not seen on this media as frequent as they should be because of its
reach, this media highly ensures the foundation to make itself known, as
still; after all these years, it is not having that reach that it requires.
Running ads on local and national news channels is an option to be
considered with keenness. Working together, Akhuwat Foundation and
journalists can create stronger international reporting. Mainstream media
and NGOs have long had a symbiotic relationship, with the media using
NGO experts for news tips, quotes, and access. Now, with many foreign
bureaus of major news outlets shuttered, and the simultaneous growth of
more media savvy NGOs, the agencies are doing even more: researching
and pitching stories, sharing contacts, developing content and providing
logistics, guidance, analysis, opinion and, in some cases, funding. Put
simply, without the help of these groups, many foreign news stories would
not be told at all. It is a natural evolution of an already strong relationship.
However, a slight, but fundamental, shift is underway in which NGOs are
taking on more and more functions of news media in their capacity to
gather and manage foreign news. While they certainly don't have the
mission or means to provide daily news coverage or replace that function
for the media, they can and are helping to address the foreign news gap.
This cross-pollination seems more logical in the field, as the number of
people bearing witness to foreign stories shrinks.
The Importance of the Media to the Work of NGOs:
Mass media are channels, such as newspapers, magazines, radio or
television, used to communicate information to large groups of people. By
22

regularly conveying information to important audiences, from the general

public to government and international decision makers, the media plays
a large role in shaping public debate. The media are among the most
important allies to the NGO community. Establishing good relationships
with journalists is an integral part of any effective media outreach
campaign. Some ways in which the media can be of importance to
Akhuwat Foundation includes writing articles that:

Create an environment of political pressure.

Convey general information, serving as a public education tool.
Counter popular misconceptions.
Comment on an issue, providing an alternative viewpoint.

Celebrity endorsement:
Not just for their name value, research the A and B lists, and find someone
who is passionate about Akhuwats cause, and use them to promote their
work. Finding a champion and use their talents to raise both Akhuwat
Foundations profile and theirs. As the Celebrity Endorsement and support
for charities survey shows it is not enough to put a face to a charitys
cause in order to get funds. A celebritys popularity changes quickly and
todays in celebrity might quickly become liability. That is why when
deciding to use a celebrity for a campaign it is essential to select the
person carefully. So a careful and a humble choice is necessary. NGO has
greater responsibility towards the society and purely relies on building a
reputable and credible image. They need to portray themselves as an
organization with substance. Their actions need to be communicated in a
way that people do not fall for the glitz but understand the true impact of
their work and actions. Hence the PR officers working for Akhuwat should
be very careful in finding the right fit for their brand image.
Events & Fairs:
Getting actively involved in national and international events is the need
of the hour to get more recognition. Fairs remain an effective offline
23

advertising tool. Thousands of different fairs exist, all with a different

subject or cause. Fairs about cars, windsurf equipment, food, marketing,
etc. Even for NGOs like Akhuwat Foundation, there are special fairs. For
NGOs looking for volunteers in different countries and cities other sorts of
fairs exist. Even if no one is interested, these fairs are a good way to talk
to interesting people and maybe collaboration can arise. Educational
institutes often organize fairs for students too especially for future choices
about studies or students careers. Akhuwat Foundation can try to get a
spot on these kind of fairs thus exploring possibilities of getting new
donors, volunteers or borrowers. Also Akhuwat must organize special
donor events that can be used to ensure a continuous stream of donations
from the current and new donors.

A Final Word on Akhuwats Marketing Communication Mix &

How to Better Utilize it:
Non-profit organizations like Akhuwat Foundation need to focus on
building their brands in order to market their vision, credibility, value, and
impact of their work. In marketing their brand, they should also be
accountable to their donors and other relevant stakeholders. In addition,
they should develop a culture of transforming, monitoring and evaluating
their data into case studies and other materials that could be of interest to
the donor market. These materials will also help them to build credibility
for their causes. Lastly, they should develop interactive websites to
enable their staff to interact with donors/potential donors, volunteers and
other interested stakeholders. Considering Akhuwats well known and
widely admired success we are of the view that the organization needs to
pay more attention towards integrated marketing communications and to
come up with a right mix of marketing opportunities. Though a non-profit
organization like Akhuwat has very few options left for marketing due to
financial constraints but again the true art lies in getting maximum reach
with minimum investment. The purpose of sharing all the above possible
mediums was to explore the current approach adopted by the Akhuwat
Foundation and to present possibilities of exploring few other mediums as
24

well. The best way for Akhuwat is to become more vibrant in terms of
marketing itself and its programs by getting more involved with those who
have the potential to give more coverage to Akhuwats work. We are of
the view that Akhuwat must try to attract maximum public attention by
collaborating with various organizations in such a way that Akhuwat gets
marketed without investing a lot in this regard. This is the best approach
through which Akhuwat can expand its operations and can grow its
current success.

The Process (Service Process)

Akhuwat Foundation adopts a simple and easy to understand process for
allocation and disbursement of loans. In fact the whole process is so easy
that it has been admired by leading economists for its ability to survive
and prosper despite being a simple business model. The process of loan
sanction starts with the reliance on previous borrowers for marketing of
the services provided by Akhuwat Foundation. The individual loans
process (focus of our project) is promoted through awareness and
promotional campaigns in low income localities and market places while
relying mainly on the previous borrowers of loans. During such marketing
and introductory sessions the program is introduced and the concept is
shared in mosques or churches benefitting from the gathering that
originally gathered for prayers. This adaptation not only reduces the
operational costs for Akhuwat but also opens the doors of places of
religious significance but also attaches the mantra of faith and worship
with the socio-economic development of the community. The loan process
in real terms starts when the interested person visits the office of Akhuwat
Foundation with the purpose of acquiring further information. At this stage
the Unit Manager or the Loan Officer (representative of the service
provider i.e. Akhuwat Foundation) comes in direct contact with the
prospective borrower and provides all necessary information and guidance
regarding the application process and the loan details. After this, the
phase of application submission comes where again the Loan Officer
25

provides assistance to the applicant in filling the details asked in the

application form. Once this process is complete the officer carries out the
initial scrutiny of the application to check whether the applicant is eligible
for a loan or not based on his/her income and social capital.
Once the application is submitted and initial scrutiny is performed, the next phase
covers the preparation of business plan. In this phase the business idea of the
applicant is assessed to see that whether it is a viable plan and whether it will be
able to generate enough income to make revenues in addition to the household
expenses of the individual. This is done to make sure that the individual is in a
position to repay the loan easily. An interview with the family is also a part of this
phase and in this interview the involvement of the family and their support for the
proposed business is assessed.
After this, comes the phase of final assessment and decision making against the
application that has been forwarded by the local loan officer. This phase starts with
the evaluation of the application by the Branch Manager who assesses the technical
aspect of the submitted application and then forwards it to the credit committee
(includes loan officer, branch manager and the area/regional manager). In case the
decision is made in favour of the applicant the process of loan disbursement is
initiated. This whole process of application processing and decision making takes
almost 3 weeks before a final decision is made. Next, the borrower is asked to
provide two guarantors who verify the credentials of the applicant and also accept
the responsibility of looking after the borrower. These guarantors also give
assurance that they will ensure timely payment of the loan instalments.
After this a special event is arranged (usually at a branch office/mosque or church)
where the loan is disbursed in an official ceremony in the presence of guarantors
and local community members. After this Akhuwat remains in touch with the
borrower and arranges various sessions for capacity and skill building of the
borrowers so that they are better able to carry on their work more efficiently and
effectively.
Akhuwat Foundation also adopts a proper mechanism for ensuring due payment of
the instalments of the loan. In this regard, the loan officer or the unit manager visits
26

the borrower on regular basis to monitor his performance and to make sure that the
payments are made within the specified time. It is due to this very reason that the
recovery rate of Akhuwat is presently at 99.7%.

27

Process Flow Diagram (Summarized Version)

28

Program
Introduction
(Market through
Awareness
Cam paign)

Individual
Selection &
Subm ission of
Application

Preparation of
Financial/Business
Plan & Evaluation of
Applicant

Further Assessm ent

by Credit Com m ittee
& Decision Making

Nom ination of
Guarantors

Disb
Cap

Loans
are The
loan The
business After
initial After approval After
marketed
process
is plan
of
the assessm ent by the borrower is proreq
through the use initiated when applicant
is the loan offi cer required
to are
of
awareness an individual
reviewed
and the application provide
two loan
campaigns
interested
in necessary
is forwarded for guarantors
on disbur
mainly
availing
loan assistance
is assessm ent by his behalf who applic
performed
in visits the offi ce also
provided branch m anager vouch for the event.
poor
localities for subm ission for preparation and
credit individual's
organi
and
poor of
application of a viable plan. com m ittee.
credentials and also
localities. This for
financial The viability of After
careful accept
capac
process
is assistance. The the
plan
in assessm ent
a responsibility of skill
mainly
done loan
officer term s
of
its decision
m onitoring the and
with
the provides
ability to cover regarding
the borrower.
guidan
involvement of necessary
the expenses is application
is
activit
previous
guidance
and checked.
Also m ade and the
for
borrowers.
also
perform s the applicant's loan
borrow
Further
local initial scrutiny fam ily
is disbursem ent
a
m
mosques
and of the applicant interviewd
at process starts (if
enabli
churches
are and checks his this stage.
approved).
to car
also used to eligibility.
work
introduce
the
effecie
program.
effecti

Final Word
Akhuwat Foundation is possibly the best microfinance institute that
operates in any part of the world and that too as a non-profit organization.
The success of Akhuwat lies in its simple business model that has been
designed keeping in view the needs and requirements of the local
community. Considering the services aspect of the Akhuwat Foundation
we can say that the organization has been able to maintain an appropriate
level of the ambience for its offerings while providing the loan services to
the prospective borrowers in easily acceptable terms. It is due this
simplicity that the organization has been able to keep its costs at a
minimal level. However we are of the view that by working on its
marketing

communication

and

integrating

the

available

marketing

mediums in an appropriate manner will allow the organization to touch

news heights of success in days to come.

29

30