Community Based Microfinance certificate Course

Community-Based Microfinance Certificate Course

On-Campus of Coady International Institute
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
May 2 - 20, 2011;  Sept. 26 – Oct. 14, 2011

(Few more places left in the course. Please send in your applications by 23rd February, 2011.)

The program will focus on community-based and owned microfinance methodologies, including Savings Groups/Village Savings and Loan groups (across Africa), Self Help Groups (in India, other places), SACCOs (small co-ops) and larger financial co-operatives (globally). These methodologies tend to have strong emphasis on savings, deeper poverty and geographical outreach, often a strong women's empowerment focus, and the potential for communities to play leadership role in becoming self-reliant.

The Course is designed for microfinance practitioners, who are implementing community based and member owned microfinance, microfinance regulators, Banks and MFIs linking with community groups, rural finance professionals, and donors.

MasterCard Foundation and CIDA graciously support Coady's efforts in offering this course, and help offer scholarships for deserving applicants.

Program Description and Objectives

You will be able deepen your understanding in the following subject areas:

* Different Microfinance approaches and perspectives
* Community-Based and Member-Owned Microfinance methodologies
* Microfinance program designing
* Program (business) planning for Community Based Microfinance and Member owned institutions
* Understanding poor and the needs of financial services, analyzing contexts
* Financial Products
* Outreach and Scale-up strategies
* Networking and Federation
* Governance
* Linkages with Banks/ MFIs for loans, savings, other financial products
* Regulation for the community based approaches
* Innovations - use of mobile technology, oral tools, conditional cash payments, etc.
* Social performance and Impact

In addition, you will undertake 'personal learning project' of your choice, directly connected with your work, with access to modern library and online journals resource, and guidance from the course facilitators.

For More information
please visit http://www.coady.stfx.ca/education/certificates/microfinance/ or email at coadyreg@stfx.ca

Best wishes,