Project background Financial health is more than a simple metric of business success (e.g. profitability, secure cash flow, growth potential, etc.) Financial health is achieved when daily systems help build resilience and pursue opportunities. It includes the ability to meet financial obligations (e.g. bills, taxes, payroll) and  maximize the collectability of sales; access to funds to weather financial storms; and ...

The Microfinance Centre has launched the next phase of our Building Financial Capabilities and Strengthening Institutions through Customer-centered Innovations project. At the end of June 2019, the project team (MFC staff and the staff of our partner Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion ) tested the first prototypes of the Financial Health Digital Tool—interviewing eight beneficiaries of Fundacja Innowacja i Wiedza (a ...

In March 2019, Microfinance Centre and Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion teamed up to conduct research in Poland and Serbia using human-centered design principles to develop a financial health digital solution for microentrepreneurs. This effort forms part of our Building Financial Capabilities and Strengthening Institutions through Customer-centered Innovations project. As part of this research, the teams interviewed 17 Polish ...

The Borrow Wisely Campaign strengthens borrowers’ financial literacy knowledge and skills through educational materials, client workshops and one-on-one engagement between borrowers and loan officers. Our final evaluation results of the 2018 Borrow Wisely Campaign are impressive: 24 Campaign partners across 16 countries in Europe and Central Asia reached 311,363 people with campaign messages! Our partners educated people directly (individual meetings, workshops, ...

On the 19th of June 2018, the Hague University of Applied Sciences hosted an international workshop “Saving Group Movement in Europe: A new way to foster financial and social empowerment” in partnership with the Microfinance Centre and Metlife Foundation. This workshop focused on the potential of savings groups for micro-entrepreneurs and citizens who can benefit from improved skills to manage their finances at ...

‘Are you kidding me? This is unbelievable! A financial institution that is taking care of me and my budget? From the bottom of my heart, thank you and MFC for this kind of support!’ A MI-BOSPO client Throughout October, 24 different financial institutions took part in the MFC’s fifth annual Borrow Wisely Campaign. Borrowers from 16 countries in Europe and Central Asia ...

European Microfinance Week, organised by the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) in Luxembourg on 14 – 16 November, hosts high level and in-depth discussions by all sectors of the financial inclusion community working worldwide, especially in the south. The unparalleled three day event attracts leading experts, opinion-leaders and policy-makers to its plenaries and workshop sessions tackling front line topics. You’re invited!  As part ...

What is Borrow Wisely! Campaign? The Borrow Wisely! promotes global client protection standards. This annual international campaign is led by the MFC and its partners. We work with any institution that is a responsible lender (complying with current global standards of client protection) working in the Europe and Central Asian region. What is our goal? We aim to educate large ...

Topic: Saving Group Movement in Europe: A new way to foster financial and social empowerment Date: Tuesday 19th of June 2018, 9 am – 4:30 pm  Location: The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Hague, the Netherlands Registration: free of charge, registration form Program: download If you are interested in exploring what saving groups can mean for your own working environment, come to our international ...

Want to promote international client protection standards and responsible lending? Join Borrow Wisely campaign 2018! This year, the Microfinance Centre will organize the campaign which helps to improve clients’ financial literacy levels for the fifth time. As previous campaign editions proved to be a great tool for reaching massive numbers of clients with targeted financial education messages. The campaign will be held on October 2018. ...