Training for Microfinance leaders kicks off at CYP Africa Centre

The Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for Africa is currently hosting a training session for managers and leaders of Micro finance institutions. Participants of this training programme have been selected from several African countries including Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Tanzania.

The two-week training programme on Making Microfinance Work (MMW) which runs at the CYP Africa centre from 11th -22nd February 2013 has been designed by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a means of empowering leaders of microfinance institutions in order to improve management and foster efficiency in the running of the institutions. This is in recognition of the role these institutions play in the development of the informal employment sector. Microfinance Institutions are recognized world over as financial instruments that provide support to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses which lack access to banking and related services due to the high transaction costs. The CYP Africa Centre entered into an agreement with the Zambia hosts of the programme Tucuza Associates to jointly support the realisation of the need for such capacity development needs in Africa.

Irene Banda,one of the training facilitators, “the training is first of its kind and will be expanded to reach out to many more microfinance managers through a series of Training of Trainers”.

CYP hopes to adapt and attract managers and staff of youth development funds and related national programmes which have adopted the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI) model to subsequent editions of this programme.

The training is conducted in partnership with the European Union, ILO, The Commonwealth Secretariat, Tucuza Associates, and Association of Microfinance