Here is our proposed Learning Agenda for the PovCoP group:
3 April 2013: Poverty Measurement
What tools are available for use? How can we use them effectively in our everyday work?
1 May 2013: Services that meet the needs of the poor
What do microfinance products that meet the needs of the poor look like? How do I know what will work best for my clients?
6 June 2013: Pro-Poor Seal of Excellence Launch
In-person meeting at the Social Performance Task Force annual conference. Focus on Latin America and the next steps for the Pro-Poor Seal of Excellence first candidates.
**Panama City, Panama
3 July 2013: Tracking Change over Time
How do we understand the effect of our work on our clients lives? What kind of data is needed and how is it evaluated?
Truelift 
le programme est parfait. mais j’aimerai savoir quelle stratégie je pourrais employer pour informer les institutions de micro finances au cameroun par rapport à l’existence de cette communauté. en effet, si je pouvais avoir une lettre que le label adresse aux institutions de micro finance camerounaise, je pourrais la transmettre aux autorités en charge du secteur. merci
Bonjour Monsieur,
Aidez moi participer activement en traduisant les documents que vous m’envoy en langue franaise. J’ai des difficults de rpondre en anglais.
Freddy NUMBI ADEKOR IMF
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Am a student wrting on poverty alleviation, i hope am not intruding. I only wish to gain some knowledge about reducing poverty. I’ve gained alot about poverty and wish to participate during WEB conferences if possible. The learning agenda is alright. But i woul like to propose that , the issue of women and children should be added. Thank You.
Hello,
You have a very interesting program. It reflects effectively this interests of our organization. APROCEC- RD Congo.
I think it would be useful to start with a discussion of what does a ‘pro-poor’ lens means for microfinance;
Outreach – poor people are generally excluded from MF that just ‘sets-up shop’. So why are poor people excluded and what does an MFI that is serious about reaching poor people need to do (geographic target, over-coming common exclusion factors, poverty measurement etc)
Client protection – are the CPP ‘poverty neutral’ or are poorer people more vulnerable to harm eg. over-indebtedness, less confident/able to challenge abusive behaviour, more likely to be illiterate etc? What are the responses to this? Higher levels of vulnerability for poorer people means more risk and therefore should the standards be more cautious for poverty focused MFIs eg. ratio of loan to cash flow lower?
Benefits for clients – the design of ‘appropriate products and services’ is a challenge for all MF. In designing products and services that meet the needs of any MF client we need to think about the goal – investing in a business or agriculture, decreasing vulnerability and increasing ability to cope with shocks, ability to meet anticipated day to day and life cycle needs. So what does a poverty lens mean? Well, poor people are more vulnerable, so this may mean that the risk taken in investment loans should be lower; poorer people may lack other capabilities necessary eg. for successful investment and therefore complementary non-financial services may be more important; an initial focus may be on reducing vulnerability eg. through savings rather than on investment.
I think we need to add something here.
Often, the focus so far has been on ”absolute poverty”. And this is for a good reason — meeting basic needs, etc.
But I think what is neglected, and which we also need to give attention to is ”relative poverty”. Are our services expanding ”inequalty” or narrowing it. Not just between the rich and the poor, but also between men and women. What are the impacts of our service on gender relations? Are we empowering or dis-empowering women? Is violence with-in the household increasing or decreasing?
Also, WHO is doing the poverty impact analysis? Who defines poverty, vulnerability, empowerment? …. Personally I am concerned about this issue. Because in many microcredit summits that I have attended, those doing the analysis, the presentation, etc are westerners — who are very far from the poor’s reality.
Regards
Getaneh (getanehg2002@yahoo.com)