Entry into green finance sector brings new opportunities and potential benefits but is not without challenges. It is a new line of business for most microfinance institutions which requires changes in internal operational procedures, financial products, and credit assessment methods. At this point, many microfinance institutions that are unfamiliar with the green finance methodologies perceive it as risky and difficult ...

  Read the new Impact Report by Banca Etica, an MFC Memeber! “2019 marked Banca Etica’s twentieth year of activity. It was a year filled with new initiatives and good results, which we’re able to describe in detail in terms of social and environmental impact for the first time. This report provides all stakeholders with our definition of the “impact” ...

By Piotr Koryński, for MFC CEO FORUM “It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about the serious problems afflicting the world and I tell myself; ‘I must talk to the pope about it’. Then the next day when I wake up, I remember that I am the pope.” -Pope John XXIII   Your leadership ...

By Kinga Dąbrowska How to Work From Home Effectively  [1] Work from home (WFH)  requires a high level of self-organization and self-motivation skills from each one of us. For some institutions organizing WFH is not a new practice, but many of us will experience this for the first time. We decided to briefly summarize the essentials of working remotely adjusting it ...

The paper presents the concept of financial health for small businesses and describes the MFC’s approach to constructing a comprehensive measure of financial health. First, the paper argues for the need to develop a measure of financial health for a small business that goes beyond traditional balance sheet and income statement-based financial indicators. Next, the paper consolidates emerging understanding of ...

Know your client! – this call has never retired. We observe that MFIs underestimate their clients’ digital readiness. “Our clients do not use Internet” we keep on hearing, while the number of clients engaging with Internet grows at great pace. Together with member MFIs, MFC developed a practical set of questions, which help MFIs understand how they can use Internet ...

Download the publication Together with Adie (Association pour le Droit à l’Initiative Économique) and the European Microfinance Network (EMN), Paris EUROPLACE has published a whitepaper on microfinance. Subtitled “Unlocking the potential of microcredit for a more inclusive and dynamic Europe”, this paper summarises the current situation and the potential developments for microfinance, and initiates the reflexion on how to untap its potential at ...

New technology and digital transformation can spell big changes for an microfinance institution’s working habits, processes, products and services. To unlock the potential of digital tools, MFIs first need to understand where they are starting from. An MFI’s ability to implement large-scale digital initiatives is called its ‘digital readiness’. By identifying digital challenges and opportunities across both internal and external ...

New technology and digital transformation can spell big changes for an institution’s working habits, processes, products and services. To unlock the potential of digital tools, MFIs first need to understand where they are starting from. An MFI’s ability to implement large-scale digital initiatives is called its ‘digital readiness’. By identifying digital challenges and opportunities across both internal and external aspects ...

Read MFC’s latest case study  “Riding The Technology Wave in European Microfinance: The Case of Qredits”. This case study traces the origins and the digital evolution of Qredits, a Dutch microfinance foundation that is the only national program providing an alternative source of funding to new- and early-stage businesses.  Qredits, from its inception, has banked on the intensive use of ...