MicroSave
MicroSave Africa
MicroSave-Africa's New Website
Background
Since its inception following the "Savings in the Context of Microfinance" conference (which was organised by the CGAP Working Group on Savings and held in Feburary, 1998, in Kampala, Uganda) the MicroStart-Africa project has evolved significantly while maintaining its core mission - developing market research tools that allow the clients's voice to be heard by microfinance institutions involved in developing new products and services. This evolution was guided by the key conclusions and recommendations of the mid-term evaluation of the project, which was extremely positive and instrumental not only in mobilising additional resources from existing donors, but also in attracting new funding from a third.
During its first phase (October, 1998 to December, 2000) the project, which was co-financed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the British Department for International Development (DfID), was designed to promote secure, high quality savings services for poor people in Africa. To this end it was involved primarily in action research and training activities and the dissemination of best practices, with a relatively modest geographical focus on three East Africa countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). During its current phase, the project, which is co-financed by UNDP, DfID and CGAP, has broadened its scope to embrace microfinance in general (credit, savings, and insurance services). It has also extended its geographical coverage to include additional East African countries and some in Southern Africa, and relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, in order to make optimal use of its strategic partnership with the Microfinance Capacity Building Programme in Africa (aka AFCAP).
The role of the Special Unit for Microfinance
As the technical unit mandated to provide guidance to UNDP on strategic and operational issues relating to microfinance, the Special Unit for Microfinance (SUM) has been closely associated with the MicroStart-Africa initiative since its inception. The unit played a key role in the conception and design of the project, participated in its mid-term evaluation, and helped guide the subsequent re-orientation which is described briefly above.
In early 2001,
UNCDF/SUM was instrumental in securing $0.45m in additional funding
from UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) for the second phase
of the project, and currently plays an active role as a member
of the Projects' Advisory and Management Committees which meet
on a bi-annual basis and provide managerial and technical oversight
and guidance. SUM has also mobilised $0.45m in complementary resources
through UNDP/RBA to fund the development of a sister programme
in West Africa, and is actively promoting the application of tools
and techniques developed and refined by MicroSave-Africa in the
francophone African context.
SUM is proud to support and collaborate with the MicroSave-Africa
team, which distinguishes itself by the quality of its action
research and training activities, the analytical rigour and insight
it brings to the table, and its capacity to identify and explore
some of the cutting edge issues in microfinance.
While the entire MicroSave-Africa website used to be hosted at UNCDF/SUM, the organization now has its own website hosted in Nairobi. You can link to it at: http://www.microsave.org
More information can be obtained by contacting them directly at:
MicroSave-Africa
Ground Floor,
Shelter Afrique Building
Mamlaka Road
PO Box 76436
Nairobi
Tel. 254 (0)2 724801 or 806
Fax. 254 (0)2 720133
