The Ateneo Microfinance Capacity Building Program (ADMU-MCBP) recently set up four training hubs in Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Dipolog. The establishment of the training hubs is part of the programs overall strategy of bringing capacity building services closer to microfinance institutions.
The training hubs make microfinance training courses available and more accessible to more microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Philippines. It is hoped that more MFIs will benefit from this initiative. Participants need not travel to Manila to attend training courses in microfinance. Courses will be regularly offered in key cities all over the Philippines that could lead to a Diploma in Microfinance conferred by the Ateneo de Manila University.
Leticia Loquinario, the Chief Operating Officer of Katipunan Bank said, “The administrative costs related to attending courses in microfinance traditionally available only in Manila is drastically reduced. We no longer need to pay for plane fares and lodging for enabling us to send more of our staff to attend the trainings.” She added, “we also invite other MFIs in Mindanao to attend the training since we view them as our collaborators, not competitors.”
The hubs were established in partnership with the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS-SPECC), and Katipunan Bank (KB). The BPI Foundation also supports Ateneo’s establishment of training hubs in microfinance.
In the past five years, the ADMU-MCBP has trained close to 5,000 microfinance stakeholders from almost 1,800 development organizations. Cumulatively, these development organizations reach out to more than 3 million poor households in the Philippines.