Raising human capital an ongoing challenge for microfinance sector
Raising human capital an ongoing challenge for microfinance sector
Microfinance institutions, savings and credit unions have a shortage of knowledgeable staff and require more trainers and sources of training in response to the considerable growth in the finance sector.
Chair of the Microfinance Association (MFA) Ms Vanhsy Chindavong yesterday made the remark at the 2nd Training on Office Management and Leadership for Microfinance Institutes, Savings and Credit Unions.
The training was organised by the MFA in partnership with the Bank of the Lao PDR and the Cambodia Microfinance Association and it will run from October 27- 31 in Vientiane.
Ms Vanhsy said there was considerable expansion of microfinance institutions in recent years with more and more being registered and investing in the sector.
There are now 61 registered microfinance institutions, over 31 of them being members of the association.
She noted that although there will be many new start-up microfinance organisations, many of them will be unable to expand their businesses because they have insufficient ability in funds management.
Only large microfinance institutions are able to expand without problem, Ms Vanhsy added. She pointed out that nowadays there are limits on training sources and services compared to other business sectors. In addition, most of the institutions have little money and make limited profit so they don’t have enough budget to go abroad to gain experience.
During the training more than 21 participants will learn more about office management, and be able to define steps in becoming a quality administrator.
Participants will be able to organise meetings effectively, prepare business documents professionally, manage assets and prepare budgets properly, communicate with staff,promptly and lead the office team well.
In addition, participants will be taught helpful lessons and necessary skills for becoming a good leader, from which they will be able to estimate the ability of an administrator and build an effective team.
They will be able to use communication effectively, build incentives, give constructive comments based on regulations and principles, know how to manage time and assign work to a person who has the proper skill for that work, and how to develop their organisation to improve its results.
Finally, the participants will learn about transparency and correct procedures in an organisation, which will give them a better understanding of risk administration within microfinance institutions as well as internal auditing processes and systems.
vientiane times
