Certificate in Microfinance
Investment
Duration
COURSE OVERVIEW
The purpose of this course is to provide the knowledge, skills, attitudes and
values required to function effectively in a Micro-Finance Institution. Qualifying
participants will be competent to handle all aspects of the micro loan process
from dealing with a loan application, through processing the loan disbursement
to handling repayments. This Certificate in Microfinance is an excellent and
comprehensive qualification for microfinance practitioners. It prepares you for
the challenge of s
TARGET AUDIENCE
Microfinance practitioners, such as mid-level managers and field staff of
Microfinance Institutions and other financial institutions engaged with
microfinance
WHAT YOU WILL STUDY
Module One: Microfinance – International Trends and Best Practice
- Microfinance Clients, who are they, what do they really need, how do they
manage their finance? - Where do Microfinance Institutions come from, what are their
characteristics? - and Cons of different microfinance approaches?
- What are the trends, and how are Microfinances making use of them?
Module Two: Products and Services in Financial Inclusion
- Microcredit, Micro savings, and Microinsurance
- Mobile Money and Digital Payment Solutions
- SME Financing and Access to Capital
- Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection
Module 3: - Loan Monitoring
- The loan monitoring cycle in microfinance
- The different lending methodologies
- The role of a Loan Officer in monitoring
- Daily/weekly/monthly monitoring schedules
- Site visits and client interviews
- Use of checklists and monitoring templates
- Digital tools and MIS for monitoring
- Group lending vs individual lending monitoring
- Reporting tools and formats for field staff and supervisors
- Portfolio review meetings and dashboard analysis
- Using loan monitoring data to inform lending decisions
- Module Four: Delinquency Management and Recovery
- Strategies for follow-up and loan restructuring
- Collections and recovery planning
- Rescheduling vs refinancing: pros and cons
- Legal and ethical considerations
Module Four: Micro Savings - Definition and importance of micro savings
- Role of micro savings in financial inclusion
- Principles of effective micro savings product design
- Types of micro savings products (voluntary, commitment savings, group
savings) - Innovations: digital wallets, mobile savings, incentives,
Module Five: Ethics in Key Risk Areas
- Credit risk: fair lending, over-indebtedness, transparency with clients.
- Operational risk: internal controls, fraud prevention, whistleblowing.
- Compliance and reputational risk: regulatory ethics and social responsibility.
- Ethical risk assessment checklists and reporting mechanisms.
- Group discussion: Handling unethical conduct within a risk unit.
- Module Six: Sales and Marketing in Microfinance
- Role of sales and marketing in MFIs
- Understanding the MFI target market: low-income, unbanked, underbanked
- Differences between commercial bank marketing and MFI marketing
- Challenges and opportunities in MFI sales
- Field-based selling and relationship management
- Community marketing, referrals, and word-of-mouth
- Use of digital tools (SMS, WhatsApp, social media)
- Financial literacy as a marketing tool
- Branding and positioning in the microfinance sector
- Module Seven: Financial Performance Management
Key financial indicators: - Portfolio Quality (PAR, write-offs)
- Profitability (ROA, ROE)
- Operational Efficiency (cost per borrower, cost to income)
- Sustainability (OSS, FSS)
- Benchmarks and trends in microfinance
- Financial risk and performance dashboards
- Overview of human resource management (HRM)
- The role of HR in MFIs: operational vs. strategic functions
- HR challenges in microfinance
- HR’s impact on sustainability and service delivery
- Setting KPIs aligned to microfinance goals
- Workforce planning for MFIs
- Recruitment channels suitable for MFIs
- Understanding staff needs in the microfinance environment
- Ethical issues in HRM
- LEARNING OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS
- At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain what kind of products, services and delivery channels will work in real
life for a microfinance Institution. - Understand how to conduct a proper loan analysis.
- Conduct effective site visit and assess the character of a borrower.
- Be able to calculate a loan applicant’s cash flow.
- Understand what poor people expect from savings providers and their
savings products. - Understand what perquisites microfinance providers have to fulfil to take
savings products. - Be able to mitigate or even rule out particular risks.
- Understand the principles of financial and social performance in microfinance.
- Analyse key financial and social performance indicators.
- Understand the ethical foundations of risk governance in microfinance.
- Recognize ethical dilemmas in risk management and decision-making.
- Apply ethical principles to governance, compliance, credit, and operational
risks.
Module Eight: Social Performance Management (SPM) - What is SPM and why it matters
- Key SPM frameworks (e.g., SPI4, Universal Standards for SPM)
- Indicators of social performance:
- Client protection principles
- Outreach and inclusivity (poverty levels, gender, geography)
- Impact and client outcomes
Module Nine: Human Resource Management - Overview of human resource management (HRM)
- The role of HR in MFIs: operational vs. strategic functions
- HR challenges in microfinance
- HR’s impact on sustainability and service delivery
- Setting KPIs aligned to microfinance goals
- Workforce planning for MFIs
- Recruitment channels suitable for MFIs
- Understanding staff need
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain what kind of products, services and delivery channels will work in real
life for a microfinance Institution. - Understand how to conduct a proper loan analysis.
- Conduct effective site visit and assess the character of a borrower.
- Be able to calculate a loan applicant’s cash flow.
- Understand what poor people expect from savings providers and their
savings products. - Understand what perquisites microfinance providers have to fulfil to take
savings products. - Be able to mitigate or even rule out particular risks.
- Understand the principles of financial and social performance in microfinance.
- Analyse key financial and social performance indicators.
- Understand the ethical foundations of risk governance in microfinance.
- Recognize ethical dilemmas in risk management and decision-making.
- Apply ethical principles to governance, compliance, credit, and operational
risks.