Dear member,

MAIN is pleased to inform his members that he has launched a new master of arts in Microfinance with Ines Ruhengeri in Rwanda.

Ines Ruhengeri is a private catholic university located in the city of Ruhengeri. It has different faculties with more than 5 000 students.

MAIN in collaboration with INES Ruhengeri initiate a postgraduate program in microfinance for practitioners to enhance their knowledge and develop new skill to be competitive and to better serve their clients.  

Admission requirements

Candidates to the master’s program in microfinance have to fulfill the following conditions: have a bachelor degree & be computer literate.    

The following requirements should be fulfilled to attend the program:

1. A registration fee of EURO 600 to be paid to MAIN by bank transfer right after admission with proof of transfer sent to MAIN
2. Late registration and registrations communicated directly to the university will not be accepted by MAIN,
3. Candidates are requested to arrange their own international travel and MAIN will make reimbursement up to USD 600 upon presentation of factual receipts, flight coupon and boarding pass along bank details immediately after the session is over. Please note that the cost of air ticket exceeding USD 600, the difference will be covered by the participant.
4. Students will be lodged by MAIN on campus. Meals will be provided on daily basis for 15 days. Participants who will come too early or who will leave late will bear the extra cost. MAIN sponsorship will not exceed the 15 days. 
5. Member institutions are requested to clear their arrears of annual contribution to MAIN before attending the program.
6. Application must be received not later than May, 15th, 2024.

To register, please click on the link below regarding where you are coming from:

For Rwandan Students: https://digitalcampus.ines.ac.rw/student/masters/application/

For application for International Students: https://digitalcampus.ines.ac.rw/international/

We look forward to receiving your applications soon. 

General Assemblies of MAIN members

Lomé Hôtel 2 Février, Octobre 20th, 2023

Press Release

AFRICA CELEBRATES MICROFINANCE IN TOGO

The African Microfinance Week is a major event dedicated to the development of financial inclusion in Africa and which takes place every two years in an African country. It is organized by ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome), MAIN and the host country of the event with the support of the Luxembourg government. After the first edition in Arusha in 2013, the second edition in 2015 in Dakar, the third edition in 2017 in Addis Ababa, the fourth edition in 2019 in Ouagadougou and the fifth edition in 2021 in Kigali, the sixth edition will take place from October 16 – 20, 2023 in Lomé, Togo. This year’s theme is “towards sustainable inclusive finance”.

This year’s conference aims to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas on how Financial Service Providers (FSPs) can help fight climate change and promote sustainable development through their product and services. In addition, the conference should also encourage Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and other FSPs to adopt environmentally friendly practices. The conference is structured around plenary sessions, parallel sessions, an investor fair, an innovators’ village, training and workshops, the organization of general assemblies, etc.

Conference attendees can expect to gain insight into the latest trends and innovations in green financial inclusion, as well as the role of technology in promoting it. The conference should be interactive, allowing participants to share their experiences and ideas on how to promote green and inclusive finance.

We look forward to seeing you at this major meeting of financial inclusion players. You can register using the discount codes that you can get from the MAIN secretariat.

GUIDE TO FINANCIAL CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Financial services are evolving rapidly, with a growing array of new technologies, unconventional providers and innovative combinations of financial and non-financial services. While this evolution can help enhance financial inclusion for women, low-income and vulnerable consumers, it also brings greater risks.   

There is evidence that digital finance consumer risks, such as data misuse and fraud have increased in several markets over the last few years. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbate these risks, as vulnerable groups are more fragile due to economic hardship.  

Consumer protection is considered a basic regulatory enabler for digital financial inclusion. By better protecting consumers, this may also enhance their trust and increase their usage of formal financial services. Several emerging markets have taken important steps on consumer protection, including in digital financial services. Financial regulators and supervisors have adopted consumer protection regulatory and supervisory measures, and some global and national industry associations have developed codes of conduct.  

But the growing and evolving nature of consumer risks in digital finance demands more effective, and holistic consumer protection actions. Several industry players have already begun developing various solutions that can help address financial consumer risks, with CGAP paving the way towards a responsible digital finance ecosystem approach. This approach requires all ecosystem actors to play key roles in securing a responsible financial system by putting the customer at the center and collaborating in ways that protect and ensure positive outcomes for digital finance users.  

This FinDev Guide consists of a selection of resources that offer insights on good practices, solutions and tools that regulators, supervisors and providers can adopt to ensure that consumers achieve positive outcomes in their financial journey.   

https://www.findevgateway.org/guide/2023/07/guide-to-financial-consumer-protection-in-digital-era

MAINTAINING MOMENTUM OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH DIGITAL ADOPTION IN THE WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION (WAEMU)

West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries have seen increased financial account ownership since 2014, with mobile money accounts driving adoption and usage.

On average, 41% of adults in the WAEMU have an account with a bank or similar institution or with a mobile money service. Senegal has the highest account ownership rate at 56%, but it still falls 15 percentage points below the developing economy average. However, there is room for growth in financial inclusion, and the Global Findex data suggests opportunities to accelerate ownership and usage through digital financial enablement.

Nearly 75% of account owners in WAEMU own a mobile money account.  

In 2014, WAEMU countries had low account ownership rates, except for Côte d’Ivoire. Banks and similar institutions held most of these accounts. However, between 2014 and 2021, mobile money accounts boosted account ownership rates across most countries.

https://blogs.worldbank.org/fr/allaboutfinance/maintenir-la-dynamique-de-linclusion-financiere-par-ladoption-du-numerique-dans

Certificate in Microfinance Management

MAIN is pleased to announce the launch of the Certificate in Microfinance Management. It is a certificate programme that provides a broad based, practical exploration of the key ideas, techniques and skills needed to be a microfinance manager in 21st century.

The certificate is ideally suited to the needs and aspirations of both those already holding management positions within MFIs, as well as those staff who are being prepared to take up management positions. 

It is a self-study programme that consists of six modular courses, (see below for details). It is flexible and allows students to fit their studies around their work and social commitments. Students can enroll for the programme at any time of the year. The programme can be completed within three months. 

Admission Requirements

The Certificate in Microfinance Management is open to anyone who is interested in advancing their career within the microfinance sector.  However, the content of the programme requires students to possess:

• Sound educational background
• Strong familiarity with microfinance operations
• Good written English skills. 

Fees

The total fee for the certificate programme in Microfinance Management is 200 USD  

This includes:

• Registration fee
• Detailed study guides and workbooks, to accompany each of the six modular courses
• e-copy of The New Handbook of Microfinance by Joanna Ledgerwood (World Bank)
• Online support
• Assessment of course work

The Certificate in Microfinance Management covers the following areas and topics:

MODULE 1: MANAGEMENT & MFIS

MODULE 2: OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AND MFIS

MODULE 3: MARKETING AND MICROFINANCE 

MODULE 4: CLIENT SERVICES MANAGEMENT 

MODULE 5: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & MFIs  

MODULE 6: STRENGTHENING MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS 

Prof. Martin O’Reilly, PhD. will lead this programme.  

For more information about this online programme, please contact the secretariat of MAIN. 

Download Admision form

MAIN ACTIVITIES OVER THE PERIOD

EDITORIAL

Dear Members,

The resume of work after the summer is always a busy time for MAIN Network. Thanks to our various summer training sessions, we continue to support the work of our partners and members of our network.

MAIN promotes the capacity building of Microfinance Institutions as much as it promotes the experiences sharing so that all together, we, actors of inclusive finance, can respond to the challenges of the sector collectively.

This newsletter is an opportunity for us to come back to the various training activities of the last months and to discuss topics of capital importance for the sector such as: ecological and social transition, Islamic finance, staff motivation mechanisms in MFIs, efficient management of MFIs, etc. Some participants who attended the training gave us their testimony and we thank them for their contribution.

Microfinance is at a crossroads and players must adapt to its ecosystem with new emerging paradigms. We are the agents of change of tomorrow’s microfinance. This newsletter highlights the changes in the sector which give it a new breath on the one hand with a focus on the different activities of MAIN on the other hand.

Capacity building for professionals in the microfinance sector remains our main concern and we hope to welcome many of you during our next training sessions.

Enjoy your reading

Mohamed ATTANDA

Executive Director

THE ACTIVITIES OF MAIN NETWORK DURING THE PERIOD JUNE-AUGUST 2022 ARE RELATED TO EST (ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL TRANSITION) INCUBATORS PROJECT, THEMATIC TRAININGS AND THE MASTER’S TRAINING IN MICROFINANCE.

EST Incubators Project: a model of collaboration between MFIs, MAIN and MSMEs (Medium and Small Micro Enterprises)

As part of the project entitled ” Inclusive finance in Africa facing the challenges of ecological and social transition: challenges and capacity building of African actors through an innovative and adapted training offer “, MAIN is experimenting an incubator model with two members institutions, namely Mutual ASJD and WAGES. The establishment of incubators allows MAIN to develop new skills for the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to engage in activities that contribute to EST: renewable energies, energy efficiency, waste recycling, etc.

The companies selected for this pilot are: Green Industry Plast Togo (GIP-TOGO) LLC, a company specializing in collecting, sorting and recycling of plastic waste, RUCHE/SETRAPAL, whose main activity is the drying and processing of organic food products, in particular the drying of pineapples and fresh mangoes and their marketing, EGENT TOGO, an Electrical Engineering and New Technologies company that supports companies, communities and individuals to have access to sustainable energy at an affordable cost and AgroSolutions and Development (ASD), a company that produces and markets organic soybean meal and oil, floating pellets for Tilapia and catfish, complete and complementary feed for poultry, ruminants and monogastrics.

The diagnosis of each MSME made it possible to identify the axes of intervention on which MAIN could support them and strengthen their organizational skills. Among others we can note:

• Building a Business Plan
• Analytical operating accounting
• Digital Marketing and TES

Testimonial from a EST Incubator project company

We are a company specializing in the collection, sorting and recycling of plastic waste. The collaboration with MAIN network with the support of an Expert on Ecological and Social Transition (EST) issues has helped us a lot to improve our organization, particularly in  structuring our  business plan. This allowed us to highlight key indicators relating to EST. We had in-depth training on the business plan of a structure that is in EST and which takes into account his  parameters . We also had training on cost accounting. I admit that it is a tool for strategic decisions that I did not know at all. I did not know that apart from general accounting there is an accounting called analytical. But with this training and this technical assistance that we got from  MAIN , we came to know the meaning of cost accounting that we are putting in place in our structure. We are  able to identify the costs   associated with our products to know if they are profitable or not. The training really edified us and brought a lot to our institution. From this moment we will improve our way of doing things. We hope to continue benefiting from assistance from   MAIN  to allow us to become sustainable and competitive .

Mr Bemah GADO

Managing Director Green Industry Plast Togo

In addition to the classic themes that suit them, they must set up or diversify their businesses in the innovative theme of “Ecological and Social Transition”

For the project’s partner, it is an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in the design, creation and financing of products and services of an ecological nature. The micro-entrepreneurs will come out very tough from this experiment and will be able during the capitalization workshop to share their experiences, the lessons learned and the challenges encountered.

Cost accounting practice session at EGENT Togo

Strengthening the capacities of financial inclusion actors through appropriate training

Five thematic training sessions were carried out during the period respectively in Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Rwanda. These are three training sessions on Ecological and Social Transition (Togo, DRC and Rwanda), one training session on Motivation (Togo) and one training session on Islamic Finance (Ethiopia).

The trainings on Ecological and Social Transition were for the participants and their institutions an opportunity to understand that the major challenge for African MFIs is to offer new financial and non-financial services that allow microfinance to play its role in the context of the fight against the effects of climate change and in achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). And to achieve this, MFIs must, with a forward-looking vision, professionalism and experience, be able not only to offer accessible products and services that meet the needs of their customers, but to do so under sustainable conditions of institutional viability, economic and environmental in order to meet both social and environmental challenges. Climatic variations and the difficulty of predicting them jeopardize the livelihoods of microfinance borrowers and threaten the future ability of MFIs to operate in rural areas. The challenge for MFIs is therefore to strengthen the resilience of rural economies through financial service strategies that are better suited to their members/customers.

Presentations, experiences’ sharing, group work were the basis of these training sessions which were very practical and participatory. The participants, at the end of the training, were equipped to:

• Understand the concepts related to Ecological and Social Transition (EST) and be able to develop their first personal concept on EST.
• Know why EST is relevant for their clients and for their institutions;
• Know the main elements of EST and some existing projects and experiences;
• Understand how to integrate EST into the operating mechanism of their MFIs.

Testimonial from a participant of the EST workshop in Rwanda

The training held in Kigali, Rwanda was an excellent training. The training was practical and the questionnaire designed by the facilitator is thorough and requires a lot of time for reflection and verification. Immediately after the training, we organized a meeting with our 32 agencies and also a meeting with the management. Our mission is to serve entrepreneurs and economically active people by providing environmentally friendly, innovative, sustainable, women-centered and quality financial and non-financial services to improve the livelihoods of society by filling the financial inclusion gap. “We are currently working on the revision of our business plan. Smart climate change is one of the major pillars of our new strategic plan. We are working on the triple bottom line by encompassing profit and people and contributing to the well-being of the planet (The Three Ps) Participating in this training helped us to revise and update our mission which takes into account the triple mission of MFIs.

Mr Tezera K. Bekele

Managing Director, Peace Microfinance S.C.

Ethiopia

Regarding the training workshop organized by MAIN on the theme: ” From work to performance: the motivation and commitment of executives to work in microfinance institutions apart from remuneration” , it enabled participants to understand that beyond the issue of salary which is of the greatest concern to the leaders of Microfinance Institutions when it is already an asset for the staff, they must strive to understand the human person as a whole and allow him to reconcile his private life and his professional life. The leader must know how to inspire trust to motivate by being the credible person that employees choose to follow with both character and competence. Leaders must have the ability to bring employees together around the common strategy of the organization and achieve results with and through others using disciplined processes and coach employees as needed to unleash the abilities of each member of the team, to improve their performance, solve problems and develop their careers.

Testimony of a participant in the Lomé workshop on motivation

I would first like to thank the organizer of this training ,  (MAIN) , the participants and especially the consultant. It is true that before arriving and I even expressed it from the first day that I am waiting to the end and   see  how  we can motivate without the salary. We are indeed at the end of the training and I understood that apart from the salary, there are other elements that must be taken into account in Human Resources Management.

Mrs. Huguette Valentine ADOUKONOU

Managing Director Africa Finances

As for the training on Islamic finance that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it is part of the promulgation by the National Bank of Ethiopia (Central Bank) of the ‘Banking Proclamation No. 592/2008 which enabled conventional banks and MFIs wishing to do Islamic banking and open interest-free banking windows from 2011. In addition, Islamic banking has become a rapidly growing universal phenomenon in Muslim and non-Muslim countries alike.   Following an assessment needs of members in Ethiopia, it emerged that there was a need for training on this subject. It is in this context that MAIN has decided to organize this training to train and develop its members who have started interest-free banking or plan to do so in the near future to better manage the challenges of adopting interest-free microfinance.

Group picture training on Islamic finance, Addis Ababa, Etiopia

The training allowed in a participatory approach, participants to acquire notions on the piloting, launching and supply of Islamic financial products, including its mechanisms, scope, new product development processes, delivery methodologies and its durability. They are now also able to explain and integrate organizational, operational, governance and regulatory factors in the development of Islamic microfinance products and services and identify appropriate sources of funding and build strategic partnerships with partners, development and promoters of Islamic Microfinance.

With a better understanding of its environment, its governance, its regulations, its supervision, the executives and managers of the microfinance institutions who participated in this training workshop are equipped to identify the main opportunities and challenges of the conversion or diversification towards Islamic microfinance.

The various evaluations of the trainings have revealed that, in view of the positive assessment which stems from the testimonies of satisfaction of the various participants, it can be deduced that the objectives of the training has been achieved.

Strengthen inclusive finance actors through universities programs

As part of its capacity building program, MAIN organized from August 07 to 28, 2022 the residential session of its Master’s program in Microfinance in Yaoundé. This program, which is jointly organized by MAIN in collaboration with UCAC, brought together for the 2022 edition, 35 participants from several countries (Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Guinea, DRC, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Chad, Burkina -Faso, etc.).

Group picture UCAC 2022

It was a real occasion of experiences sharing between inclusive finance players as shown in the testimony below

The training allowed me to acquire so much knowledge in various fields to better manage my organization that I have to prioritize the reorganizations that I will bring   and remain pragmatic so that the added value is very quickly visible.

The mix of professionals of  the field with university lecture  from UCAC gave a special touch to this training session rich in experiences and good practices sharing between participants andfacilitators.

I would like to thank MAIN for having set up a special program of this kind, thanks  to UCAC and to its trainers  who gave the best of themselves during the session. Thanks  to the organizers for this great initiative. I encourage MFIs who are still reluctant to join MAIN to do so because MAIN training is very enriching and practical. This is truly an opportunity to seize for the growth of our respective MFIs.

NDEMIGN Ngaradoum Akominassi

Executive Director of WAKILI SA, Social MFI in GUINEA

This training allows MFI executives to manage their institutions effectively and soundly and better equips them in several areas such as: management , financial analysis, governance, social performance management, strategic planning, internal control , management of information systems, etc. so that they can better meet the demands of a sector that is constantly developing and evolving.

During this session, 19 participants in Master 2 defended their preliminary dissertation project in front of a jury made up of professors from the university. Instructions have been given to each student for what he has to do with the dissertation itself. In terms of training logistics, significant improvements have been made for the 2022 session.

The participants left very satisfied with the organization of this training and the lessons learned during the session.

It should be recalled that this training, intended for managers of French-speaking MFIs, is  certified by a Master’s degree in management of MFIs. It has been organized since 2016 in collaboration with the Catholic University of Central Africa It  meant for managers and board members  of French-speaking MFIs, members or non-members of MAIN. Lasting 2 years, this master involves both academics and professionals from the sector. The training includes three weeks of classes per year on the premises of the UCAC face-to-face. Between the different sessions, the participants work on the platform on which they drop their work and interact with the teachers.