Managing & Regulating Transformation of MFIs

Program: English Session
Language: English

This course uses case studies to investigate the benefits, risks and challenges of commercializing and licensing microfinance operations. It brings the lessons of actual experiences to bear on the issues facing managers of NGOs undergoing transformation; their investors, funders and international networks; and the policymakers and central bankers responsible for legislation, regulation and supervision. The course focuses on the lessons from the experience of K-Rep Bank (Kenya), supplemented by others such as Mibanco and transformation experiences in Uganda and Ghana. Particular attention will be paid to the creative tension between financial goals and poverty focus, and the implications for human resource management. The importance of a suitable legal/regulatory framework will also be discussed, focusing on special legislation for MFIs. Other topics include mobilization of investment capital, ownership, capitalization, governance, market environment, costs, regulatory compliance, and product development in the context of transformation.

The course is team taught in such a way as to encourage discussion around the issues, drawing on the case study material presented and the various experiences of the participants. The core of the course is presentation of the experience of K-Rep Bank, with question-and-answer sessions interspersed. Participants will also learn experientially through break-out group discussions on benefits and risks of transformation; the critical decisions facing an NGO Board in the midst of a difficult transformation; and the pros and cons of draft legislation for licensing Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions.