A bank was considering the option of opening a new branch in El Metn region and requested an area analysis in order to assess its commercial viability. To meet the objectives of the study, a multi-faceted methodology was implemented:
1) Desk Research
2) Ground Scanning
3) Traffic Flow Analysis and
4) In-depth interviews with Real Estate brokers from the area under study.
The desk research exercise helped identify the potential of the area under study and specifically demographics of the population, population growth rate, businesses currently available and upcoming, real estate projects under way, in addition to identifying branches of competing banks and their location. The ground scanning exercise helped identify informal businesses available in the area and real estate projects under development and which were not obtained through the desk research exercise. The traffic flow analysis helped pinpoint the areas with the highest traffic flow at various intervals which eventually helped the bank identify the location of the new branch. The in-depth interviews with real estate brokers helped provide a macro-overview of real estate in the Metn area which in turn helped identify the commercial viability of the area. The study was able to provide the bank with a clear vision of the area under study which eventually helped them assess the potential for a new branch.