Association Management Training Institute -- Cairo, Egypt

The SEEP Network in close coordination with Sanabel, The Microfinance Network of Arab Countries, under the Citi Network Strengthening Program (NSP) funded by the Citi Foundation, organized a four-day seminar entitled Association Management Training Institute. With the theme Advancing Microfinance through Association Leadership, it provided capacity building on essential tools for microfinance association staff. It was held in Cairo, Egypt from February 1-4, 2010.

The four-day training institute offered skill-building workshops and peer learning exchanges on different aspects of managing microfinance associations. The first day was devoted to learning how to analyze the latest version of the Network Capacity Assessment Tool (NCAT 5.0). The second and third days were about High Impact Business and Sustainability Planning with sessions on specific topics such as Strategic Business Planning; Sustainability Planning and Financial Performance; Revenue Generation; Communications, Branding and Marketing; and Performance Monitoring and Benchmarking Systems. The morning of the final day tackled Global Trends in Microfinance and New Egyptian Legislation on the Industry.

There were 50 participants to the Training Institute, coming from the twelve microfinance networks selected to participate in the Citi Network Strengthening Program. In total, the 12 networks represent nearly 60 countries, over 1,300 MFIs and microfinance organization members, and more than 36 million clients. The participating networks are:

1. Banking With the Poor Network, Asia Pacific
2. China Association for Microfinance
3. Microfinance Council of the Philippines
4. Sa-Dhan, India
5. Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU)
6. Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe & New Independent States (MFC)
7. Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN)
8. Russian Microfinance Center (RMC)
9. Sanabel, Middle East
10. ProDesarrollo, Mexico
11. Red Financiera Rural, Ecuador (RFR)
12. REDCAMIF, Central America

Others present during the seminar were representatives from SEEP, Citi Corporate Citizenship and Public Affairs, and invited guests from the Egyptian Government and the local financial sector.

MCPI represented the Philippines in the Training Institute. Executive Director Lalaine Joyas, Deputy Executive Director Allan Sicat and Communications Specialist Mark Maulit took part in the learning activities prepared by the organizers. The Training Institute was a fitting comprehensive introduction for new network staff on the different aspects of association management. At the same time, it also served to keep long-time staff members abreast with the latest developments and trends in the industry. Particularly interesting were the sessions on NCAT Analysis, Sustainability Planning and Performance Monitoring and Benchmarking Systems.