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> Posted by Kim Wilson, Fellow, Center for Emerging Market Enterprises and the Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
#103296651 / gettyimages.com
“Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler.” This aphorism credited to Albert Einstein inspires our call to Lean Research.
Two Fridays ago at MIT a group of 50 of us met to hash out some principles that, if followed, might generate better research in development and social science contexts. NGOs, universities, foundations, corporations, government, and multi-lateral agencies were represented in our group.
Our analogy of choice was Toyota. If “the Toyota way,” or lean manufacturing as it has come to be called, could cause profound and beneficial disruptions in production processes, might lean research cause equally profound and beneficial disruptions in research processes?
> Posted by Dan Norell, Senior Technical Advisor, World Vision
Financial services and enterprise development practitioners often exist in their own separate silos—yet very poor producers need both increased access to markets and financial services in order to increase resilience and economic well-being. Financial inclusion advocates are missing the boat if they focus only on services to individuals and businesses without looking at the need for financing up and down the value chain.
Within the agricultural industry, a value chain approach means that very poor producers are able to increase their scope of economic efforts through improving commercial relationships with buyers, suppliers, and financial services providers—topics which are discussed in detail in SEEP Network sponsored webinars (see here and here). For example, small-scale producers may choose to form producer groups with others in their area. This allows them to aggregate supply with others, ensuring a higher price due to greater bargaining power. These linkages provide producers with other beneficial externalities.
One example is described in the Productive Safety Net Program Plus case studies found in the Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide. In this project, CARE Ethiopia established production marketing associations and trained recipients of government food aid in production skills; group organization and management; governance and transparency; and business, market, and financial literacy. These extremely poor households also received a productive asset and accessed loans from microfinance institutions for agricultural inputs. This holistic approach addressed challenges faced by the beneficiaries at all levels of the value chain.
> Posted by Merene Botsio, Financial Inclusion 2020 Project Coordinator, CFI
The Financial Inclusion 2020 campaign at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion is building a movement toward full financial inclusion by 2020. Accordingly, this blog series will spotlight financial inclusion efforts around the globe, share insights coming out of the creation of a roadmap to full financial inclusion, and highlight findings from research on the “invisible market.”
Huddled in the crowded lobby of the Sheraton Arlington hotel at the annual SEEP Network Conference, we listened intently to Syed Mohsin Ahmed as he elaborated on Pakistan’s new Microfinance Credit Information Bureau (MF-CIB). We scribbled in our notebooks, taking down points for the Financial Inclusion 2020 Credit Reporting and Client Information Analytics Experts’ Working Group, of which he is a member.
>Posted by Center Staff
We’re excited to announce that the Smart Campaign is hosting a technical training as part of this year’s SEEP Network Conference.
The training will be on Sunday November 4th, from 2pm-5pm, and will be available in English.
The workshop is a three-hour training for participating microfinance institutions and networks to gain a comprehensive and consistent understanding of the Client Protection Principles and the Smart Campaign. Upon completion of the training program, MFIs and Networks will be equipped to diagnose current implementation of the Client Protection Principles. The participants will be able to identify institutional vulnerabilities, strengths, and begin to prioritize areas to strengthen their practices in area of client protection. Networks will be able to exchange among their peers regarding successful implementation and advocacy strategies. Finally, MFIs will be prepared to identify and begin to improve their client protection practices.
Please register here! We look forward to seeing you at our training!
*This post was modified from its original version on September 26. The time of the English-language training changed, and we are no longer offering French- and Spanish-language trainings.
Image credit: Vimeo.com
Have you read?
What the Smart Principles Can Teach Physicians about the Responsible Treatment of Patients
The New Client Education Resource Library: Tools for the Microfinance Industry
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