MEFMI runs e-course on fundamentals of microfinance supervision

Regulation of microfinance institutions continues to gain momentum and raise high expectations in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to CGAP 2018 reports, 31 countries passed new or revised microfinance legislation between 2009 and 2017, while 24 countries adopted national microfinance strategies. Of these countries, seven are MEFMI member states. It is argued that regulation promotes the growth of sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs). On the other hand, MFIs seek to transform into regulated entities to access cheap and local currency deposits. As a result, regulators in MEFMI countries are aggressively employing a range of strategies aimed at promoting the reach of microfinance, including the transformation of existing institutions, the creation of stand-alone greenfield microfinance institutions with and without a centralized management or holding structure, to encourage growth of the sector.

As the microfinance sector continues to grow, it is also important to ensure that financial sector regulators and supervisors continue to upgrade their regulatory and supervisory skills in this area to be able to effectively support its growth and impact in economic growth.

It is with this background that MEFMI ran an E-learning course on microfinance form the 25 April – 7 June 2019. With 32 enrollments, participants were prepared for more detailed supervisory analysis to be carried in future.