Business Microcredit IFN S.A. Awarded “A” Sustainability Alignment Rating by Agents for Impact

Business Microcredit IFN S.A. has received an AFISAR© Sustainability Alignment Rating of “A” from Agents for Impact, placing the institution among the top 10 microfinance providers globally for ESG and SDG alignment.

The rating highlights strong performance in several key areas:

Gender equality: 77.9% women clients and 50% female representation in management
Decent work: 100% of staff involved in structured career development and training
Governance: 88% alignment with governance-related sustainability metrics
Climate action: Introduction of Green Loan facilities and integration of ecological risks into the lending model

The assessment was conducted under the rigorous AFISAR© framework, developed by Agents for Impact. The results reflect a comprehensive commitment to sustainability across all aspects of operations.

Join SIFTA Webinar Series in June

We are pleased to announce that MFC will be hosting two highly engaging webinars in June 2025.

🔹 June 13 | 11:00–13:00 CET

Building Resilience Through Core ESG Practices: A Path to Long-Term Success – Beyond Compliance: Operationalizing ESG for a Sustainable Competitive Edge

This webinar will focus on how microfinance institutions (MFIs) can integrate ESG principles into their daily operations to strengthen risk management, improve efficiency, and unlock long-term strategic value. With increasing expectations from regulators, investors, and clients, ESG has evolved from a reporting obligation into a critical business driver. This webinar will provide practical steps and real-world insights to help MFIs move beyond compliance and operationalize ESG to build resilience and competitive advantage.

This session is designed for MFI leadership, sustainability and compliance officers, risk managers, and operational teams seeking actionable ESG integration strategies.

By participating in this event, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the event’s privacy statement, which is contained in the link Privacy statement for EIB events

🔹 June 27 | 11:00–13:00 CET

Managing a multi-generational team. How to lead and connect the talents and needs of multiple generations?

The goal of this training is to help participants understand the unique needs, expectations, and motivators of different generations within a team. Through practical strategies and real-world insights, participants will learn how to adapt their management style to promote engagement, well-being, and productivity across age groups.

Key Topics Covered:

• Understanding motivators specific to each generation

• Navigating different work-life balance expectations

• Supporting well-being and mental health in the workplace

• Fostering a sense of connection within teams and the organization

• Promoting empowerment – how to delegate effectively and responsibly

• Individualizing rewards and recognition strategies

• Choosing between immediate vs. deferred incentives

• Delivering effective feedback – what, when, and how to communicate it

Ideal for:

Team leaders
HR professionals
And anyone responsible for managing diverse team

This training offers actionable tools for creating a supportive and high-performing multigenerational work environment.

Our Experts

Dr. Agyeya Tripathi, Deputy Director – Consulting, Agents for Impact

Dr. Agyeya Tripathi leads ESG strategy and consulting at Agents for Impact, where he supports financial institutions globally in building sustainability roadmaps, ESG policies, and capacity. He has worked across Asia, Europe, Africa and Pacific countries with a focus on inclusive finance, sustainability ratings, and SDG alignment.

Pratibha Singh, Deputy Director – Sustainability Rating, Agents for Impact

Our partners

Microfinance in Europe: Survey Report (2024 edition)

This is the 12th edition of the Survey Report on Microfinance in Europe, produced by the European Microfinance Network and the Microfinance Centre. For the sixth consecutive year, this partnership enables the survey to capture the vast majority of the European microfinance sector, providing the most comprehensive dataset available. This edition highlights the social performance of business loans and the impact measurement approaches adopted by microfinance institutions.

The study covered 191 institutions from 30 countries and captured data for 2023.

With the contribution of

ERSTE Group Social Banking Annual Report 2024

Read the latest ERSTE Group Social Banking Annual report 2024.

ERSTE Group Social Banking fosters starting entrepreneurs to create new jobs, supports micro businesses to create and preserve jobs in rural areas, empowers social organisations to expand their social impact, stands by people in financial difficulties to improve their financial health, education and housing.

In 2024, over 100 million EUR was provided to 2,078 clients.

Call for a Consultant (evaluation of reports)

MFC is looking for a consultant who has proven experience in checking narrative and financial reports of organizations, who were implementing grant based projects, financed by European Commission.

Job description

Checking and providing feedback to 9 final reports (narrative and financial) of organizations that were implementing 15-months projects funded from EU grants.

Checking whether the reports are aligned with submitted applications and proposed budgets; checking and evaluating submitted documents, invoices, timesheets, etc.

Providing feedback and comments to the reports in Word and Excel documents.

Sending feedback and comments to MFC staff member.

Evaluating corrections made by grant organizations on the basis of first comments.

Requirements

Proven experience in checking financial and narrative reports of projects financed by

European Commission.

Familiarity with the field of microfinance and social finance.

Fluent English.

Timeline:

Majority of the reports will be submitted by grant organizations by the end of May. The checking process must begin on June 2, 2025. The comments to the first part of the reports must be provided by June 9, 2025. The second part of the reports will be submitted by grantees by mid- June. MFC staff member will be available to inquire about additional documents and explanations of the organizations that are needed to proceed with evaluation of the reports.

Payment

Please, provide your fee together with your resume. We anticipate that checking one report may take from half a day to up to one working day.

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact Maria Salamon at maria@mfc.org.pl and send your resume with expected fee by 18 May 2025 to the same address.

Confidentiality

The Employee acknowledges that during the course of their employment, they will have access to and be entrusted with confidential information, including but not limited to reports, data, and other proprietary information. The Employee agrees to maintain the strictest confidentiality regarding all such information and to use it solely for the purpose of performing their job duties.

Join SIFTA Webinar on Internal Audit in MFIs and SEFPs

Why Attend?

A strong internal audit function is essential for ensuring good governance, effective risk management and operational resilience − particularly in non-bank financial institutions. The integration of AI can further enhance audit efficiency and oversight. At the same time, internal audit remains one of the most commonly cited areas of misalignment with the European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision.

This webinar is designed to support microfinance and social enterprise finance providers in strengthening their internal audit systems. It will offer practical, experience-based guidance drawn from many years of MFC expert involvement in building the capacity of financial institutions across Europe.

What you will learn?

The webinar will cover:

Objectives and scope of internal control and internal audit
Models for organizing internal audit functions in NBFIs
Strategies for conducting effective audit activities
Best practices from across the sector
How to integrate technology and AI into audit processes

Who should attend?

Risk Managers, Compliance Officers, Internal Auditors, and C-Level Executives at MFIs and Social Enterprise Finance Providers.

Our Experts

Albana Gjinopulli seasoned financial expert with over 20 years of professional experience in auditing. She currently serves as Chair of the Supervisory Council of Fondi BESA and Director of the Directorate of Internal Audit Harmonization at the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Albania. Her extensive expertise covers both internal and external audits within the public sector. She previously held the position of Chair at PEMPAL Internal Audit Community of Practice and served as Director of the Department at the Supreme Audit Institution of Albania. Her skill set includes Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Audit, Audit Management, Intelligence, and CISA certification.

Piotr Koryński is a development finance and economic development specialist with significant field experience working in more than 40 countries globally. For over 10 years, he led the efforts of Soros Economic Development Fund, a social investment vehicle of the Open Society Institute to develop microfinance globally. He helped to initiate and operate 10 microfinance institutions as well industry infrastructure projects such as MIX and Microfinance Management Institute. He was also involved in microfinance policy programs to create appropriate legal and regulatory framework for access to financial services for low-income people in specific countries of Eastern Europe.

Our partners

Join the SIFTA Webinar Series with Artur Munteanu

Are you working in microfinance or supporting MSMEs in Europe? Don’t miss this webinar series designed to help your institution grow, adapt and innovate.

🧠 Led by expert Artur Munteanu, a finance executive with 24+ years of experience across Europe and Central Asia, these sessions will provide actionable insights and practical tools for your team.

You don’t need to attend every session − feel free to join those most relevant to your organization and portfolio.

Webinar Schedule

🔹 May 12 | 11:00–13:00 CET

New product development: Micro equity products for MFIs

The majority of MFIs have the mission to create jobs; however, after close monitoring, they observe that microloan is a good safety tool but not a booster of jobs. Microfinance should not be expected to have a significant impact on job creation and unemployment reduction.  Some studies show that one microenterprise creates, on average, 1.1 jobs, that is, one in ten hires an employee beyond the self-employed founder.

During the webinar, you will find answers to several questions:

How can private equity and venture capital be adjusted to the needs of micro and small entrepreneurs?

What MCPs/MFIs can learn from private equity and venture capital?

How can revenue participation loans be adjusted to the MSEs’ needs?

How can micro-equity investment in MSEs help job creation have a social and environmental impact?

What business model is best for your strategy?

How to structure an impact micro-equity fund?

How do you apply micro-equity in microfinance institutions?

During the session, you will find out the differences between private debt and private equity as well as different equity-type instruments that can finance MSEs, which will create more jobs and develop sustainable communities. We will define micro-equity, impact micro-equity, and present convertible loan and revenue participation loan characteristics.

Different organizational models to provide equity (like classical equity funds, crowdfunding platforms, angel investors, and accelerators).

During the session, participants will find practical insights on the ideal management team, fundraising strategy, and efficient fundraising process for micro-equity.

Application to microfinance institutions will be discussed.

🔹 May 13 | 11:00–13:00 CET
Financial Planning and Modelling

Do you have a strategic financial model and an operational financial model that can be realistically implemented and easily adjusted? Do you have a financial plan that can be used for a test stress test to quantify the growth or slowdown impact on profitability and capital adequacy?

During the webinar, you will find out about:

An ideal structure of a strategic financial model and operational financial model, depending on your financial institution’s development stage
Department or function input tables
Financial statement and indicator tables
Stress testing inputs and outputs
Templates to present the result of the model to the Board and or Stakeholders
You need to develop or adjust the financial model because you may want to build on the opportunities in good times and lose less in different crises, and get out faster from crises. Find out how to build a flexible financial model for financial institutions financing SMEs during the financial planning and financial modelling webinar by registering at Zoom.
Financial planning and modeling are not only for financial analysts, but also for top management, who will also use the financial model as a management instrument.

🔹 May 14 | 11:00–13:00 CET
Credit Scoring for Small MFIs

During this session, you will find answers to several questions:

Shall we develop scoring internally or buy a scoring instrument?
Shall we buy a score from independent data aggregators, or shall we buy credit history info from credit bureaus?
How many groups of variables do we need when building a credit score?
Should you rely only on financial data, or is non/financial data important too?
How do we weigh different groups of variables in the total score?
Credit scoring for different economic sectors.
During the session, we will also be discussing credit decisions, which should be based on credit scoring only or should be at the discretion of credit committee members within the line of authorization.
Creditor scoring is addressed for credit risk managers (junior and senior), but also to top managers who intend to change the credit analysis policies, intending to prepare a new credit worthiness analysis tool or credit scoring tool.

🌍 Attendance is free of charge for all webinars. You don’t need to attend every session − feel free to join those most relevant to your organization and portfolio.

The sessions target microfinance institutions (MFIs), including greenfield MFIs, banks, funds, NGOs, or other institutions and individuals working in the microenterprise development sector in Europe.

Our Experts

Artur Munteanu is an entrepreneur, finance executive, and enterprise development consultant with more than 24 years of experience in the financial and MSME development sectors. Artur has developed his expertise through his role as the CEO and Board Member of Microinvest, a leading non-bank financial institution in Moldova. Today, Microinvest manages more than 250 million Euros in assets and has more than 200 staff members. He was and is a Board Member and Advisor in several important companies from the agro-food, finance, and ICT sectors. Artur holds an MBA from the University of Hull, the UK. Artur organized trainings for more than 4000 participants in several subjects, including strategy and business planning, active sales, risk management, human resource management, corporate governance, and internal audit.

Mr. Munteanu has experience in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Central Asia. He structured and fundraised more than 100 million Euro in different transactions. He worked and is working with clients in Moldova, Romania, Spain, Greece, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia.

Mr. Munteanu trained and consulted in sales staff of several institutions: Mikrokapital Romania and Mikrokapital Moldova. Rocredit Romania, Seed Capital Bizkaia from Spain, MicroSmart from Greece, CAR Vest Romania, Realist from Romania and Moldova, Microinvest Moldova, and Salym Finance, Kirgizstan.

Our partners

Join the SIFTA Webinar on Improving digital and green skills of microfinance clients

This webinar, based on a compelling case study from Partner – a leading MFI in Bosnia & Herzegovina- will equip microfinance and social enterprise finance providers with practical strategies to empower their clients with essential digital and green skills. Partner is a regional pioneer in offering energy efficiency and renewable energy loans. Their innovative green financial products are strategically paired with ongoing client coaching and advisory support. Partner leverages digital technology, including their own platforms, to provide clients with digital tools that are essential for effectively utilizing their green products.

Representatives from Partner will explain how this integrated approach works in practice, demonstrating how they simultaneously provide crucial green financial products and improve clients’ digital literacy, knowledge, and green competencies through consistent coaching and the use of digital tools.

Participants will learn about:

✅ Partner’s green financial products and their key parameters.

✅ Digital calculation tools can be used to support the effective utilization of green products.

✅ Implementing coaching and advisory strategies that enhance both digital and green skills simultaneously.

✅Utilizing digital platforms and tools to deliver green products and services.

✅ Enhancing the economic and environmental impact of client businesses through integrated skill development.

This webinar targets:

❇️Microfinance and social enterprise finance practitioners,

❇️Non-financial services providers partnering with MFIs or providers of social enterprise finance,

❇️Development professionals involved in financial inclusion.

📣 Join us for an engaging session on how to empower microfinance clients with the digital and green skills they need to succeed in a sustainable, tech-driven world!

Experts profiles:

👩‍💼 Selma Jahic

Head of Development and Projects, Partner Microcredit Foundation & Partner Microcredit Company

Selma Jahic holds a B.Sc. in Economics and an MBA from International Burch University in cooperation with Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA. With over 27 years of experience in the microfinance sector, Selma has been a driving force at Partner since 1998. Throughout her career, she has held several leadership roles including Head of Marketing, Director of Credit Operations, Director of Support, and Executive Director for Credit Operations. Her expertise spans sales, operations, marketing, product development, project management, and institutional support—making her a key figure in advancing innovative microfinance practices in the region.

👨‍💼 Adnan Omerbegovic

Head of Marketing and Customer Care Department, Partner Microcredit Foundation

Holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Banja Luka, specializing in Financial, Banking, and Stock Exchange Management. With over 11 years of experience in the microcredit sector, he currently serves as the Head of Marketing and Customer Care at a Partner microcredit organization. Throughout his career, Adnan has held various roles, including managing digital sales channels, developing marketing strategies, and improving customer engagement.

He has extensive expertise in digital marketing, project management, customer service, and financial management, with a strong focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Advocating For The Future Of Microfinance: Key Talks With DG EMPL

In April MFC has held important meetings with Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). We had discussions with Mario Nava, Director-General, Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General, Brigitte Fellahi-Brognaux, Head of Unit for Social and Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Jaime Duran Navarro, from Microfinance and Financial Instruments.

The discussion centered on the important advocacy topics like the crucial role of the InvestEU instrument for the microfinance sector and concerns about its future funding. MFC emphasized InvestEU’s positive impact on job creation and its role in reducing the banking gap. MFC also highlighted its network’s contribution to various EU priorities, including competitiveness, poverty reduction, skills development, employment, support for vulnerable groups, financial literacy, regional focus, and the green and digital transition.

MFC was represented by Martina Grigorova, MFC Council Member, Ewa Bańkowska, Deputy Director of MFC; Executive Director of SIS Credit, and Beata Biela, MFC Advocacy Manager.

Driving Inclusive Green and Digital Transitions: Highlights from the Transform Together Fund Final Meeting

On 1–2 April 2025, MFC and our partner Cerise+SPTF hosted the final meeting of the Transform Together Fund Project in Brussels — a key milestone in supporting the digital and green transformation for vulnerable communities across Europe.

Through the ESF+-funded initiative, nine social finance and support organizations received grants of up to €50,000 to develop and pilot innovative tools that build digital and environmental skills among clients, particularly rural entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers.

The first day of the meeting featured dynamic peer-to-peer exchanges on lessons learned, challenges, and best practices in reaching underserved clients. The second day brought together key EU stakeholders, including representatives from the European Commission (DG EMPL), European Investment Fund (EIF), FEBEA, and EMN, to discuss the role of social finance institutions in supporting inclusive, skill-based transitions.

A strong emphasis was placed on the need for continued collaboration, strategic funding, and knowledge sharing to ensure no individual or community is left behind in Europe’s digital and green shift.

Learn more about the grantees and their innovative solutions