 ASA has currently over 5.3 million members forming different groups with special emphasis on saving practice and 21,477 employees engaged in disbursing and collecting loans and savings deposits.For many years, ASA sought to combine social development (in health, education, nutrition, and sanitation) with credit provision, but in 1991, these were abandoned, and ASA shifted its focus solely to microcredit lending.This was because they wanted to stop “donor dependence” and become specialised and financially self-sufficient.