Organization & Management of the Microfinance Unit

1. Organization & Management of the Microfinance Unit

2. How the Microfinance Unit Operates The role of each person involved in microfinance

3. Agenda • Roles of Key Officers and Staff • Qualities of a Good Account Officer (AO) • Qualities of a Good Supervisor • AO Hiring Procedures

4. MFU Organization and Management Structure

5. Roles

6. Roles

7. Roles

8. Roles

9. Roles

10. Roles

11. The importance of having good credit staff • People are at the heart of an MFI’s success – strong leadership and competent managers and staff are key to successful microfinance operations • AOs are the most important credit staff members. They are the crucial link between the microfinance clients and the bank. • AOs are the bank’s ambassadors, ensuring good client relations which are the basis of successful microfinance operations.

12. Importance of MFU Supervisor’s Role • The Supervisor is the keyto successful MF operation • A dynamic and effective Supervisor can: • Expand outreach to serve more microbusiness operators • Prevent or lessen the incidence of fraud • Motivate the staff to work well together and achieve greater productivity • Bring the bank’s MF operation to a profitable and sustainable level in a short period of time

13. Duties and Responsibilities

14. Qualities of a good AO • Honest • Hardworking and highly motivated • Prefers field work rather than office work • Good at understanding and interacting with people • Able to maintain objectivity when dealing with clients • Knows the community where he/she is assigned • Knows how to assess the viability of a business • Able to work in a team

15. Minimum qualifications for Account Officers • Maximum age of 30 years old, preferably between 21-25 years old. • At least high school graduate, preferably college graduate of business and related courses from a local university. • Must be healthy and fit to do strenuous fieldwork. • Local resident of the area. • Able to relate and communicate well with local residents, particularly those belonging to the lower income levels. • Good working attitude, receptive to training and supervision but able to work independently.

16. Field Stress Test • Applicants may be asked to undergo a field stress test. • It involves gathering of secondary data from the municipal office, some area-mapping, and interview of at least five micro-entrepreneurs. • This test also serves as a self-screening process for the applicants to determine for themselves whether they can manage the work of a microfinance AO.

17. Field Stress Test : Procedure Set A. Secondary Data Gathering • Visit the Mayor’s Office and obtain the following data: • Number of registered businesses in the entire city/municipality • Number of registered businesses per barangay • Number of households in the city/municipality • Number of PUV operators

18. Field Stress Test : Procedure Set B. Area Mapping • Make an actual count of enterprises within 30-minute walk from the bank. Draw an area map showing the location and types of enterprises covered during the exercise. Set C. Market Familiarization • Interview at least public market vendors in their place of business using a short questionnaire which will be provided by the bank. • Count the number of stalls in the dried fish section.

19. Field Stress Test : Procedure Questions to be Asked by the Applicant-AOs: • Name of Respondent • Type of Business • How long the business has been operating (years) • If business is operating everyday or on certain days only • Who attends to the business when respondent is sick or away • If respondent has ever borrowed for additional capital in the business • Source of loans (if applicable) • If respondent has borrowed a loan from any other source in the last three months • Source of most recent loan