“Excellence in Risk Management for Microfinance Institutions or how to connect Luxembourg to the Leading MFIs”
On Tuesday 27 January 2015 in the “Maison de la Microfinance” in Luxembourg, the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg and ATTF (Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière) organised a panel discussion on how to reinforce risk management in microfinance.
ATTF presented the training and coaching program in Risk Management they deliver for high level executives of leading microfinance institutions (MFIs). This program is organised in collaboration with ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome) and ALRIM (Luxembourg Association for Risk Management). It aims to help MFIs to integrate Risk Management into their institution. Since 2008, 117 people have been trained and 19 MFIs have been coached.
Tisiana Baguet, Project Manager ATTF, explained how the program is built. 2 ATTF coaches, Mr Samuel Grand and Mr Yves Deceuninck, talked about their experience in coaching MFIs. Josée Thyes, Director Administration & National Programmes ATTF, moderated the discussion.
The training program starts in November with a workshop on Risk Management designed for CEOs of MFIs which take place in Luxembourg. After the workshop, the participants have the opportunity to apply for a one year specific coaching with an ATTF expert in Risk Management. For the selected participants, the coaching starts online few months after the workshop. They are in contact with a coach based in Luxembourg. In June, the CEOs come to Luxembourg to meet their coach and to follow 3 days of intensive coaching. The coach will visit the MFIs the following months. The coaching can last up to 3 years upon the request of the MFIs and the acceptance of the organisers.
During the presentation, it was underlined that the success of the coaching depends on the implementation by the CEOs of a specific risk management action plan into their institution. The CEOs establish their own road map and the coach is acting as a facilitator.
The presentation showed that this program is beneficial for both the MFIs and the Luxembourg Financial Centre. It allows not only a transfer of Risk Management know-how available in Luxembourg to the MFIs but also the Luxembourg based experts strengthen their knowledge in microfinance.
