Rural Finance Thematic Workshop Antananarivo, Madagasacar

Dear all,

You are invited to the Annual Regional Rural Finance Thematic Workshop to be held on 12th-14th August 2008 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The workshop will be co-hosted by Rural Finance Knowledge Management Partnership (KMP) which is financially supported by IFAD, Swedish Cooperative Centre and Agroforestry(SCC-Vi), and International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

The theme for the workshop is “The Role of Apex organizations in Responsive Product development and Rural Finance Outreach”. This is because, in order to achieve deeper outreach rural finance institutions (RFIs) need to develop products that correspond to their customers’ needs and sensitive to the cyclical demand for financial services influenced by the risks of most agricultural lending. The workshop research paper will focus on micro-insurance as one example of a risk mitigation strategy. In addition, the co-hosts SCC-Vi and ICA, as well as selected IFAD projects/programme in the region will share their experiences around this theme.

The plenary discussion, the workshop organizers will also incorporate a field visits to Madagascan R/MFIs involved in rural finance activities.

Please find attached the workshop background information, information package and participant confirmation form. These information is also available on the website www.ruralfinancenetwork.org and you can register on-line.

Thank you and best regards

Miriam Cherogony
Rural Finance Specialist
Rural Finance Knowledge Management Partnership (KMP)
P.O Box 783 00621
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 (20) 762 1143
Cell-phone: +254 728 111 237

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Chers (ères) Mesdames, Messieurs,

Vous êtes invités à participer à l’Atelier thématique régional annuel conjoint sur les financements ruraux qui se tiendra du 12 au 14 août 2008 à Antananarivo, Madagascar. L’atelier sera organisé conjointement par le Partenariat pour la gestion du savoir en matière de financements ruraux (KMP) qui est soutenu financièrement par le FIDA, le Centre suédois d’enseignement coopératif et d’agroforesterie (SCC-Vi), et l’Alliance coopérative internationale (ACI).

Le thème de l’atelier est le suivant : “Rôle des organisations faîtières dans le développement des produits adaptés aux besoins et l’extension des financements ruraux”. La raison de ce choix est que, pour pouvoir atteindre le grand public, les institutions de financements ruraux doivent développer des produits qui répondent aux besoins de leurs clients et qui sont sensibles à la demande cyclique de services financiers influencés par les risques liés surtout aux prêts agricoles. Le document de recherche se concentrera sur la micro-assurance comme exemple de stratégie d’atténuation des risques. De plus, les coorganisateurs SCC-Vi et l’ACI, ainsi que des projets/programmes du FIDA sélectionnés à travers la région partageront leurs expériences autour de ce thème.

A part la discussion en plénière, les organisateurs de l’atelier prévoient d’incorporer à l’ordre du jour des visites sur le terrain afin d’apprécier l’implication des Institutions de financements ruraux malgaches dans les activités de financements ruraux.

Veuillez trouver en pièces jointes les informations relatives au contexte, à la note d’information et un formulaire d’inscription. Cette information peut également être accessible sur le site web www.ruralfinancenetwork.org et vous pouvez vous enregistrer sur internet.

Nous vous remercions et vous prions d’agréer nos sentiments distingués.

Miriam Cherogony
Spécialiste en Finance Rurale
Rural Finance Knowledge Management Partnership (KMP)
B.P 783 00621
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: + 254 (20) 762 11 43
Cell: + 254 728 111 237

About blogs as a tool to interact with your network

I see Mine has set up a blog for info on SMIP. What has been your experience so far? Is it better than using discussion forum or listservs in terms of interaction? Do you get feedback or comments?

What settings did you use? Are all comments published or do you moderate them?

How often do you write on the blog? Are these regular contributions or ad-hoc whenever there is something new?

MfI: Talking about MandE

An IFAD funded Regional Programme, SMIP (Strengthening Management for Impact) is working with pro-poor initiatives in eastern & southern Africa to build capacities to better manage towards impact. It does so through training courses for individuals, technical support to projects & programmes, generating knowledge, providing opportunities for on-the-job-training, and policy dialogue. 

An important component of managing for impact is monitoring and evaluation (M&E). SMIP's approach to M&E is learning oriented and participatory. Meaning - encouraging the use of data and information for improved action by the stakeholders themselves (as opposed to decision making by funding agencies alone). 

This year, SMIP has worked with the ASSP/ASDP-L Programme in Zanzibar; OXFAM in Mozambique; Department of Social Services in South Africa among others. To read about some of the teams experiences & lessons in establishing and utilizing participatory & learning oriented M&E systems, visit SMIP's blog -http://mande4mfi.wordpress.com/. 

The blog - "Talking about M&E" describes individuals reflections on things like the use of performance questions to identify information needs; mapping out theories of change; and M&E and Governance. It also provides information on forthcoming training workshops & other useful sources of information on M&E. 

SMIP is working hard to strengthen the culture of sharing knowledge & experience amongst pro-poor initiatives, particularly in Africa. So we'd very much welcome your thoughts, experiences & lessons! 

For more information on SMIP & Managing for Impact, visit our Electronic Resource Information & Learning Center (ERIL) - http://www.managing4impact.com/

Karibuni!