The importance of non-financial services for the performance of Lebanese microfinance institutions.

Abstract

Non- fi nancial services, such as consultations in research and development, fi nance, economics, accounting, law, and others (Eurostat, 2020) are offered to companies. Providing non- fi nancial along with fi nancial services at micro fi nance institutions has been a very controversial topic over the last decade. In fact, many scholars have highlighted the ad-vantages of non- fi nancial services not only for customers but also for micro fi nance institutions, whilst others have pinpointed the massive operational expenses that come with those services and identi fi ed the negative impact of those services on micro- fi nance institutions ' fi nancial performance. Therefore, this paper aims at studying the effect that non- fi nancial services really have on Lebanese micro fi nance institutions ' fi nancial performance through analyzing the following independent variables: fi nancial sustainability, donors ' contributions, loans ' quality, and operational expenses. A quantitative method was conducted via the distribution of a questionnaire to several Lebanese micro fi nance institutions, and statistical results were established and assessed. The fi ndings helped us draw a conclusion regarding the provision of non- fi nancial services at Lebanese micro fi nance institutions, and recommendations were presented accordingly. Finally, this study is signi fi cant because it sheds light on the Lebanese micro fi nance institutions and offers a deeper understanding of the factors that enhance the effect that non- fi nancial services have on micro fi nance institutions ’ fi nancial performance.