Author: Mariel Vincent Rapisura

The business planning for microenterprises course is designed to improve the management skills of microentrepreneurs. The course enables microenterprises to craft their own vision and mission; assess the external environment where they work; identify and evaluate opportunities; improve delivery of products and services; craft a personal financial plan; and learn techniques in marketing their products…

With the success of the provision of credit among the poor, the utilization of credit for adequate income and employment generation is a cause of concern for most of microfinance stakeholders. It has been observed that microenterprises need an enormous range of services, not just financial. This course is designed for microfinance institutions who are…

Branch viability is the capacity of a branch to sustain its operations and continuously create value for the organization and its clients. The branch viability course discusses the standards for assessing branch viability, including indicators for measuring the performance of staff members and of the organization as a whole. The course includes sessions on basic…

Middle managers play a crucial role in microfinance since they could be considered as the backbone of the microfinance institutions (MFIs). The middle management is the point where microfinance’s lofty mission must be translated into a sustainable and scalable operation. The middle managers are often poorly equipped to deal with this challenge. The branch operations…

Microfinance institutions face a variety of risks in delivering its products and services. Written policies and procedures are put in place in order to manage these risks. Branch and area managers perform audit functions to ensure that policies are followed, financial and operating information are accurate and reliable, and risks are identified and minimized. Training…

Training on Accounting for Non-Accountants ultimately aims to assist managers in identifying and analyzing problems through information generated from financial reports and eventually making management decisions based on these. The training course will include process on how financial statements are created, basic accounting principles, and financial ratios.

The financial analysis course starts with a presentation of basic financial statements and prescribed chart of accounts for microfinance institutions and the government. The heart of the course is the method for adjusting financial statements to account for subsidies, donations, inflation and adequate loan loss provisioning. Recognizing these adjustments to the financial statement reveals the…

Delinquency is one of the major challenges that microfinance institutions face. The course enables participants to understand delinquency by tracing its causes and costs. To hasten appreciation of delinquency, it offers various perspectives on delinquency from the vantage point of the borrowers and the microfinance institution. Participants will also be taught on how to measure…

The financial product design and development course uses market-based or demand-led approaches. The framework to be discussed outlines research methodologies using participatory rapid appraisal techniques to determine the needs of the market; assess institutional readiness for product development; and assess competitive advantage of product prototypes. The course extends the whole process of product design and…

The course offers more than the basics of microfinance. It introduces the concept of the microfinance triad – savings, loans and investments. The course offers a deeper understanding of the fundamentals and principles of microfinance coupled with an appreciation of various microfinance methodologies – Group/Solidarity Lending, Village Banking and Individual Lending. The course also describes…