MFI MONITORING PROJECT

After the workshop held at the University of Pretoria during October 2007,and our first attempts to get the mfi monitoring project off the ground Tembeka is glad to announce the launch of its new monitoring project in collaboration with a growing number  of partners. For now, it concerns 7 MFIs but let’skeep in mind that it is a landmark project in South Africa. Therefore,improving outreach will take time but we trust that this monitoring project will reach the estimated total of 18 MFIs before 2010.
Tembeka has already developed more user-friendly, comprehensive and appropriate tools to facilitate the gathering and analysis of data. This new process has been designed to integrate all our partners and will allow them, first, to follow up their activities quarterly and, then, to give a realistic overview of the current situation of eachone to Tembeka’s members of the Board.
Remember that participating MFIs will only have access to their own detailed information. All remaining information will be shared anonymously. It is for this reason that we invite our partners to hand in reports on time as the quality of the quarterly reports is highly dependent on your input of indicators.
This new instrument should  be viewed as a major tool which will help improve ing our collective image, professional relationships and the efficiency to reach our social objectives.
Thanks to our shareholders, investors and partners for entrusting us with this task. And now, let’s go!

INAISE Membership

Tembeka is proud to announce it’s acceptance as a member of INAISE - www.inaise.org

INAISE (the International Association of Investors in the Social Economy) is a global network of socially and environmentally oriented financial institutions.
Created in 1989, INAISE has grown rapidly as the movement of social investors gained importance, volume and visibility in a number of European and non-European countries. Through Inaise, social investors from Norway to South Africa and from Costa Rica to Japan have been joining forces to exchange experience, disseminate information and demonstrate to the world that money can actually be a means to achieve positive social and environmental change.

Measuring the Organisational, Financial and Social performance of Micro-finance Institutions

A workshop on Measuring the Organisational, Financial and Social performance of Micro-finance Institutions held at the University of Pretoria, Tshwane, South Africa was held during October 2007. This workshop was conceived and made possible by a partnership between Tembeka, AMFISA and MAIN

Primary objectives of the workshop.

• Introducing, clarifying and entrenching with MFIs, the concept of measurement as a critical organisational process.
• Considering the measurement of performance as conceptual, strategic, and methodological challenges.
• Identifying strategies, tools and methods required for effective measurement.

The main theme - Measuring organisational, financial and social performance.

The workshop focused on the measurement of organisational, financial and social performance of MFIs, with particular reference to Southern and Eastern Africa, which are embraced in the COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) zone.

Of particular importance to the South African organisers Tembeka and AMFISA was a resolution by South African MFI’s to commence the measurement of a first set of basic financial indicators commencing in 2008. This resolution is both historic and a clear indication of the maturity of local MFI’s. It is also vital to make a clear distinction between development microfinance and the cash-loans industry.

Thanks to the following sponsors and contributors:

• University of Pretoria, especially the Centre for Microfinance and its staff.
• The Ford Foundation for the generous sponsorship of some of our international delegates
• ABSA bank for its sponsorship