Blogs

In September of this year, the European Microfinance Platform published the results of a survey that mapped Human Resource Development (HRD) Practices in the Microfinance Sector and highlighted opportunities for acting on those results. This blog is the second in a series of thematic case studies which explore the actions that some survey participants have taken to address each area. Not long ago, when an MFI was asked how it evaluates the cost-effectiveness of its HR investments, there was a pretty good chance that it would reply by describing its process for assessing participant satisfaction with its training courses. Much has changed in the last few years. There is greater awareness of the multiple channels through which capacity can be built. There is increasing desire to compare the costs and benefits of different options. And there’s more understanding of the range of investments that can support effective talent management – from recruitment tools to retention systems. There is so much more measurement that could be done, but what do MFIs find worthwhile? What are they actually measuring – and how are they measuring it?

e-MFP is a member-led platform, and we always want to hear what our members are doing in different fields, to increase linkages and knowledge sharing both across the platform and with other stakeholders. Over 2021, e-MFP reached out to its members to see who was doing what in the area of this year’s European Microfinance Award theme – 'Inclusive Finance and Health Care'. We asked them five questions, and we’re very grateful to the following members for their contributions.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the latest crisis that is putting pressure on financial service providers (FSPs) globally. Lockdowns and regulatory moratoriums on loan repayments, together with a lower business activity are putting serious constraints on FSP’s liquidity positions. Early in the Covid pandemic, there was widespread concern that liquidity constraints could wipe out many of the financial institutions that serve low-income customers and small- and medium sized enterprises. Two recent reports issued by CFI/e-MFP and CGAP point to the vital importance of managing liquidity in the midst of a crisis. After all, the quickest path to failure of an FSP is running out of cash. Available liquidity should be used to retain the confidence and trust of both customers and creditors while continuing to operate and paying staff. Once stability is achieved, an FSP can start its recovery, but this cannot be achieved without retaining the confidence of customers, investors, staff, and the regulator. Scale2Save is a partnership between WSBI and the Mastercard Foundation to establish the viability of small-scale savings in six African countries. To analyse the impact of the Covid crisis on the liquidity profile of our partner FSPs, we compared the pre-crisis liquidity position at end of year 2019 with that at end of 2020 when a cautious and gradual recovery of the Covid pandemic had set in

As leaders face the enormous challenge of reviving post-pandemic economies, financial inclusion plays a key role. But how do we ensure that incentives, tools and programs specifically designed for low income populations become commercially viable in their own right, and remain financially sustainable over the long term? In last month’s blog “Five to thrive Embedding health care in financial services”, Lisa Morgan and Craig Churchill from the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted that while the need is greater than ever, it’s not easy to design and deliver financial services that can help to finance health care for vulnerable groups. We at Women’s World Banking look back at 15 years of design and implementation of innovative health insurance programs for low-income populations and confirm that yes, it is not easy. Yet, Caregiver, our flagship insurance solution, provides a meaningful, affordable and sustainable life insurance and hospital cash solution to middle- and low income women (entrepreneurs) in developing countries, proving that with discipline and commitment it can be done.

“The first wealth is health,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. How particularly true this is for the global poor, for whom health is often the dividing line between the path to prosperity or a slide into destitution. To make matters worse, the combination of typically volatile and precarious incomes and the absence of high-quality universal health care where they live means low-income communities not only need access to health care, but also the ability to pay for it.