TRAINING & DEGREE PROGRAMS

CMDI currently provides 5 main competency development services:

  1. Internal training for CARD MRI staff
  2. Training and exposure for CARD members
  3. Training and exposure visits for external organizations
  4. Bachelor degree in Microfinance Management
  5. Master degree in Microfinance Management for practitioners

Internal Training for CARD MRI Staff
CMDI’s first priority is to provide high-quality training to CARD MRI staff to equip them with the competencies, values and spirit to excel in achieving CARD’s mission. Below is a list of the primary training programs that CMDI  to the CARD MRI.

  • Account Officer Ready-to-Go (training of applicants for the entry-level the Account Officer position)
  • Unit/Area Manager Ready-to-Go (training of incumbent staff for promotion to Unit Manager or Area Manager position)
  • Regional Head Ready-to-Go (training of incumbent area managers for promotion to Regional Head position)
  • Credit with Education modules (corporate information, business, health life skills)
  • Customer Care Service Personality Development
  • Tellers and Cashiers 
  • Micro-Insurance for Professionals 
  • Learning Facilitation Skills
  • Refresher Program for Account Officers and Unit Managers
  • Disaster Preparedness and Response 
  • Psychosocial Care in Crisis and Disaster Management
  • First Aid
  • Assessment of SME
  • Bridging Leadership
  • Hold-up and Robbery Risk Management
  • Signature Verification
  • Paralegal Training
  • Early Fraud Detection

Each training program accommodates 20 to 30 participants at a frequency of one or two times a month or depending on demand. CMDI will continue to prioritize this market segment with the goal of responding to all of CARD’s internal training and information dissemination need with excellence and timeliness. It is also ready to conduct customized versions of some programs that are relevant to staff of other MFIs.

Training and exposure for CARD MRI members
As an extension of its services to the CARD MRIs, CMDI also provides training to CARD Bank and NGO members, both directly and indirectly.

Lakbay Aral (Learning Journey)
CMDI’s most important direct training for members is “Lakbay Aral,” an overnight exposure visit and entrepreneurship training offered to CARD NGO and Bank members. Lakbay Aral serves to reward center chiefs and strong entrepreneurs for their performance, build their skills and capacity to manage their business and contribute to the development of their centers and communities, and convey important information about CARD’s mission, vision and operations. CMDI provides Lakbay Aral to groups of 20 to 30 members (sometimes with thier respective spouses) at a time, who are identified and invited by the Bank and NGO. Over the course of two days and a night, the program offers classroom activities including lecture on entrepreneurship and demonstration of a livelihood option such as food processing,  tours of CARD headquarters and a branch, and a visit to the business of another successful CARD entrepreneur. Trips to local tourist sites as well as the food, lodging and recreational services at the CMDI facility also provide relaxing and enjoyable “retreat” from the members’ daily lives. CMDI schedules the Lakbay Aral during the dry season but it runs a special edition for member coordinators of CARD Mutual Benefit Association during July to August. It takes members from Southern Luzon to branches in nearby islands like Mindoro or Marinduque.

Credit with Education
A key example of CMDI’s indirect service to members is education, a unique non-financial service that provides members with interactive 15 -minute learning sessions on corporate information, health modules business and other useful life skills topics such as the new micro-insurance and disaster preparedness during the regular weekly meetings. CMDI ensures that all CARD  account officers are trained to facilitate the learning sessions. Training on facilitation methods and content is conducted by CMDI Flying Team of Trainers. For groups of 25 AOs in two days. 

In response to a new strategic decision to roll out the education service in more CARD NGO and Bank branches, CMDI has developed a plan to deliver the needed modules CARD wide. Current learning modules include:

  • Plan for a Better Business
  • Manage Your Business Money
  • Increase Your Sales
  • Household Financial Management
  • Breastfeeding
  • Infant and Child Feeding
  • Diarrhea Management and Prevention
  • Dengue Prevention and Management
  • Microinsurance
  • Disaster Preparedness and Management
  • CARD Products and Services (with separate modules on Hapinoy, Solar Cells, PHILHEALTH, Bilis Remittance and CARD  Bank Share of Stocks)
     

Training and exposure visits for other MFIs
CMDI also reaches beyond CARD to provide training and exposure visits to microfinance institutions, government and non-government organizations. These popular services permit CARD to share its integrated methodology and lessons learned with the microfinance and development industry, thereby furthering its mission of reaching the poor. At the same time, CARD also gains from these visits by exchanging experiences and building relationships with organizations throughout the Philippines and around the world.

Examples of such external training and services include:

  • Microfinance Management
  • MicroInsurance
  • Transformation of NGO to Bank
  • Transition from Group to Individual Lending (ASA method)  
  • Social Performance Management
  • Integrated Financial and Non-financial Services
  • Internal Auditing and Financial Control
  • Training of Trainers on Micro-enterprise Management
  • Leadership and Governance for Center Leaders 
  • Study Tours and Exposure Visits

Bachelor degree in Microfinance Management:

CMDI, has partnered with St. Francis of Asisi College (SFAC) in Metro Manila , Brokenshire College (BC) in Davao and Global Trainers, Inc. in Legazpi City in the pioneering offering in the Philippines of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Microfinance Management.  The course is designed for three types of students: (1) microfinance practioners who completed 2years of college education only, (2) bachelor degree holders who desire for a second course and (3) high school gradutes who are interested in development work using microfinance as a tool.  The first offering began in the first semester of 2008 at SFAC and BC.

 

Master degree in Microfinance Management
In partnership with the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute (SAIDI) School of Organization Development, CMDI offers the MA in OD major in Microfinance Management program.  The SAIDI-CMDI partnership has done 6 offerings since 2005 with a total of 102 students (ten of them have completed the program). The program is designed for mid-level microfinance managers to complete over 12-14 months while working full-time at a branch.  A total of about 5 weeks intensive classroom work is conducted at SAIDI and CMDI by practioners of OD and microfinance (3 weeks at the beginning of the program and 2 weeks about a month after the first 3 weeks) Then, students receive regular mentorship  and feedback over the course of the program .  The required thesis is designed in coordination with CARD mentors and entails the implementation of measurable organization changes and improvements at the students place of works .  CMDI offers the master program to two cohorts of 15-30 students each year.

CMDI offers the following six cognates, comprising 15 of the program’s 36 units (21units in Organization Development is provided by SAIDI – School of OD).

  • Microfinance Principles and Practices
  • Key Issues on Microfinance Policy and Regulations
  • Microfinance Methodologies
  • Financial Management
  • Practical Issues in Microfinance Management

 

Enrolment in this program may be done anytime at SAIDI or CMDI.

For more information about SAIDI School of OD,  Feel free to visit  website  www.saidi.edu.ph

In May, the partnership in advanced microfinance education for current and potential managers broadened to include US-based Southern New Hampshire University, School of Community Ecomonic Development (CED)  a world-class academic institution known for its Community Economic Development program. The first offering of the MS in CED  major in Microfinance began on July 14, 2008

For more information about SNHU School of CED,  Feel free to visit  website  www.snhu.edu/ced

 



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