Asasah has two programs that are responsible to take the organization towards realization of its mission. Microfinance Program (MFP) is the core program of the organization, upholding organization’s strategic niche. While the other program, Livelihoods Program (LHP) supports the Microfinance Program in Social Performance Management, introducing innovative ideas, serving the entrepreneurs. On the other hand priority of the Livelihood Program is to strive for livelihoods improvement of the poorest (non-credit worthy).

Microfinance Program
Asasah believes that Microfinance indeed cannot be provided in exclusion but has to be packaged with all complimentary services. ASASAH has tried to revive and recoil the original concept of providing financial and non-financial products/services. Customers need financial services that are tailor-made to suit their requirements. These services include a multitude of targeted credit products with appropriate loan sizes, savings, enterprise trainings and market linkages. Overall, Asasah has segmented the market of microfinance between the productive poor and micro-entrepreneurs having running businesses. The productive poor avail Asasah’s general services and the newly introduced Karobari Udhar, whereas the micro entrepreneurs can avail its specialized services like Karobar Barhao, Mera Karobar, Livestock and micro enterprise training.

Livelihoods Program
Asasah has been striving to improve the livelihoods of poor segment of the society through providing its credit and financial products/services. During the course, we learnt that micro-financial services can be offered to such a class among poor who may have repayment capacity, in other words a poor who is un-banked but credit-worthy. Thus a major segment among poor that is called extreme-poor having multifaceted nature of poverty remained un-noticed. Livelihoods of extreme-poor are mostly dependant on such formal and informal social safety-net practices which despite sustaining their livelihoods; help them maintaining their dependency.

Livelihood Program has been designed to serve such unbanked and non-credit worthy, extreme-poor. It aims at designing and implementing improved sustainable livelihood options for the extreme-poor. Nature of poverty of this class of poor requires long-term interventions to an extent where they could be regarded as credit-worthy and may be served through any microfinance program; this is the main forte of the Livelihood Program of Asasah.

To access extreme-poor, it was imperative to streamline systems and processes of existing Microfinance Program of the organization in a way that may support directly or indirectly in outreaching such a class of poor. Therefore, functions of Livelihood Program are schemed in a manner where they support Microfinance Program in achieving efficiency & effectiveness and developing a structure to access and serve extreme-poor which ultimately be mainstreamed with Microfinance Program.

Initially, the Livelihood Program has been providing support to Microfinance Program of Asasah in achieving its sustainability and growth by intervening through streamlining institutional and programmatic processes and introducing innovative and outreach services.