The ‘Business Planning’ course one of the four courses in the Operational Management Curriculum, along with ‘Product Development’, Information Systems’ and ‘Operational Risk Management’. The original five-day course guided participants through the process of strategic and operational planning and to develop the financial planning skills necessary to the long-term health of an MFI. The present version of the course has been significantly cut back from the original course launched in 2002 and includes all the sessions of the original course that precede using Microfinance to do financial modeling—namely, defining institutional mission, goals and objectives, understanding clients and markets, carrying out environmental and institutional assessments and designing a strategy.
Training Materials:
Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions Participant Materials: Trainer Notes
Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions Participant Materials: Handouts
Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions Overheads
DISCLAIMER
CGAP is pleased to make the course materials from the CGAP Skills for Microfinance Managers course series publicly available. Although the course materials have been well tested and revised CGAP cannot ensure that the materials and all calculations are fully accurate. The latest update of these materials was done in 2012-13 to include dimensions of client protection and social performance management. The microfinance industry continues to evolve and new standards continue to emerge. As a result, the course materials may not reflect the latest practices in the microfinance industry. Although CGAP has made every attempt to produce high-quality course materials, ultimately it is the technical skills, training experience and preparation of the trainers that guarantee the quality of the course itself and the successful transfer of skills and knowledge to course participants.
Please note that CGAP recognizes only those partners and trainers that went through its certification process as CGAP training partners from 1997 to 2008. Others who offer a course using materials from one of the CGAP Skills for Microfinance Managers courses should not refer to themselves as CGAP trainers or CGAP-certified.
CGAP also requests that all those who offer the Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions course use the following text in their marketing materials and course descriptions: “The Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions course is based on the materials developed by CGAP that are publicly available on www.cgap.org. CGAP is a leading independent resource for objective information, expert opinion, and innovative solutions for microfinance. CGAP works with the financial industry, governments and investors to expand access to financial services for poor people around the world.”