There is an increasing number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) providing various financial services, in particular, financing of small scale economic activities, to the urban low-income segments and rural population, in the emerging economies.  MFIs contribute significantly to the economy as a whole, and it is essential that these institutions are streamlined by an effective regulatory and supervisory mechanism which will help foster public confidence in these institutions.

Objectives: The key learning objective of this Course is to enable the participants to identify and recommend policies for the regulatory and supervisory framework governing MFIs.  In achieving this, the participants will learn to: (i) describe the significance of MFIs in developing countries; (ii) describe major products/services offered by MFIs; (iii) identify the needs for supervision and regulation of MFIs; (iv) describe methods and procedures that could be adopted in MFIs regulation and supervision; (v) identify alternative legal and supervisory frameworks for MFIs regulation and supervision.

Resource Persons: The resource persons will be drawn from central banks and international/regional organisations.

Target Group: Supervisors and regulators responsible for developing and implementing policy development and regulatory framework.