Microfinance Course

Lesson 1 • Social Mission and Dual Bottom Line

Introduces the tension between financial sustainability and social impact. Prepares students to evaluate trade-offs throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Poverty, Financial Exclusion, and Demand

Examines the socioeconomic conditions that create demand for microfinance. Links client vulnerability to product design rationale.

Lesson 3 • Key Stakeholders in the Ecosystem

Maps the actors—clients, providers, investors, and regulators—who shape microfinance markets. Builds systemic thinking needed for later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Payment Services and Money Transfers

Covers domestic and cross-border payment services relevant to microfinance clients. Highlights how payment access expands financial inclusion.

Lesson 2 • Microsavings and Deposit Mobilisation

Examines voluntary and compulsory savings products and their role in client resilience. Links deposit mobilisation to institutional funding strategy.

Lesson 3 • Non-Financial Services and Bundled Offerings

Explores business training, health education, and other non-financial services paired with financial products. Shows how bundling affects client outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Microcredit: Structures and Methodologies

Covers individual, group, and village banking loan structures. Connects lending methodology to repayment incentives and operational cost.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Microenterprise Cash Flows

Teaches reconstruction of informal business income and expenses. Provides the analytical foundation for all credit decisions in this chapter.

Lesson 2 • Loan Structuring and Approval Process

Guides students through loan amount, term, and repayment schedule decisions. Links credit analysis outputs to a formal approval workflow.

Lesson 3 • Collateral and Guarantee Evaluation

Examines traditional and non-traditional collateral options used in microfinance. Connects collateral strategy to risk mitigation and client access.

Lesson 4 • Character and Willingness-to-Pay Assessment

Covers qualitative indicators of client reliability, including references and credit history. Balances quantitative analysis with judgement-based evaluation.

Lesson 1 • Provisioning and Reserve Management

Explains how institutions set aside reserves against expected loan losses. Links provisioning policy to financial statement accuracy.

Lesson 2 • Early Warning Systems and Delinquency Detection

Introduces triggers and monitoring routines that identify at-risk loans before default. Connects early detection to lower portfolio losses.

Lesson 3 • Operational Risk in Lending Operations

Identifies fraud, process failures, and staff misconduct risks in loan operations. Introduces controls that reduce operational losses.

Lesson 4 • Portfolio Quality Metrics and Reporting

Defines and calculates key portfolio indicators such as PAR and write-off rates. Establishes the measurement framework used throughout this chapter.

Lesson 1 • Funding Sources and Capital Structure

Surveys equity, debt, and grant funding options available to MFIs. Links capital structure choices to risk, cost, and growth capacity.

Lesson 2 • Liquidity and Asset-Liability Management

Covers liquidity risk, maturity mismatches, and ALM tools used by MFIs. Ensures students can identify and mitigate funding gaps.

Lesson 3 • Financial Performance Ratios and Benchmarking

Applies standard MFI ratios—OSS, ROA, ROE—to evaluate and compare institutional performance. Prepares students for strategic financial decision-making.

Lesson 4 • MFI Financial Statements Overview

Walks through the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement specific to MFIs. Establishes literacy needed for all financial analysis in this chapter.

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Tiers and Licensing Requirements

Maps the spectrum of regulatory tiers from informal to fully licensed deposit-taking institutions. Connects licensing status to permissible activities and oversight intensity.

Lesson 2 • Prudential Standards and Capital Adequacy

Covers capital adequacy, liquidity, and exposure limits imposed by regulators. Links prudential compliance to institutional stability.

Lesson 3 • Corporate Governance and Board Oversight

Examines board composition, fiduciary duties, and governance best practices for MFIs. Links strong governance to long-term institutional integrity.

Lesson 4 • Consumer Protection Regulations

Reviews disclosure, fair treatment, and complaint-handling requirements protecting microfinance clients. Connects regulatory compliance to client trust and retention.

Lesson 1 • Client Poverty Assessment Tools

Covers poverty measurement tools used to verify client targeting and track progress. Connects assessment data to product design and mission accountability.

Lesson 2 • Social Audit and Impact Reporting

Teaches how to conduct social audits and communicate impact to stakeholders. Prepares students to produce credible social performance reports.

Lesson 3 • Responsible Lending and Over-Indebtedness Prevention

Examines practices that prevent harmful lending and protect client financial health. Links responsible lending to both ethical obligation and portfolio quality.

Lesson 1 • Market Analysis and Strategic Positioning

Applies market research and competitive analysis to identify growth opportunities. Connects external environment assessment to strategic choice.

Lesson 2 • Partnerships, Linkages, and Wholesale Finance

Explores strategic alliances with banks, fintechs, and apex institutions. Shows how partnerships extend reach without proportional cost increases.

Lesson 3 • Institutional Transformation and Upgrading

Examines the process of converting NGOs or cooperatives into regulated financial institutions. Addresses legal, financial, and operational transformation requirements.

Lesson 4 • Scaling Operations and Branch Expansion

Covers operational planning for geographic and product-line expansion. Links growth planning to risk management and financial projections.