InM organised a ‘Specialised Exposure Visit on Microfinance Operations in Bangladesh’ for a 14-member team from Banking Finance and Insurance Institute of Nepal (BFIN) during 14-18 May 2023. The specialised exposure visit was designed to help understand the operational procedures of the MFIs to achieve their mission and goals in Bangladesh. The Team comprised of 14 senior officials from several microfinance institutions of Nepal. Under the programme, the Team visited field operations of Grameen Bank, PMUK, DISA and other organisations as well as held intensive interaction meetings with senior staff of the MFIs and InM to gain first-hand knowledge on the operational characteristics and identify underlying success factors of the microfinance sector in Bangladesh. The Team also visited Cox’s Bazar to see field operations in the region.
Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development (InM) with support from Water.org Bangladesh organised a Capacity Building Training of Trainers (ToT) on WaterCredit Adoption (WCAD) Model during 08-10 May 2023 at InM Conference Room, Mirpur-2, Dhaka. The training sessions were designed to enhance the trainers’ capabilities necessary for effective design and delivery methods relating to the WCAD Model. Among others, it aimed at disseminating concepts on SDG6, safely managed drinking water and sanitation and safe hygiene services, installation of sanitary latrines and hygiene practices, impact of climate change on water and sanitation, detailed description of WCAD programme, practices of digital module of WCAD programme etc. It also shed light on training processes, critical factors that contribute to successful management of training programmes, use of appropriate training methods and media to conduct and facilitate training sessions. The participants were senior microfinance and training professionals from Gram Unnayan Karma (GUK), Bogura and SDS: Shariatpur Development Society. The training sessions were facilitated by InM resource persons.
InM has signed an agreement with Bangladesh Bank (BB) for conducting a study on ‘Comprehensive Rural Finance’. The agreement was signed on 17 May 2022 at the Bangladesh Bank Head Office, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka.
Dr. Farhana Nargis, Research Fellow, InM and Mr. Md. Golam Mostafa, General Manager, Human Resources Department-1, BB signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. Dr. Mustafa K Mujeri, Executive Director, InM; Mr. Md. Kazi Saidur Rahman, Deputy Governor, BB; Mr. Serajul Islam, Executive Director, BB; Dr. Md. Ezazul Islam, General Manager, Chief Economist’s Unit, BB; Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, Chief Economist, BB; Mr. Mahbubur Rahman, Joint Director, BB; Mr. Md. Nahid Parvej, Deputy Director, BB; Mr. Shakil Ezaz, Deputy General Manager; Ms. Nahid Akhter, Senior Research Associate, InM and Mr. Farish Abdullah, Senior Assistant Director, InM were also present in the signing ceremony.
Mr. Md. Kazi Saidur Rahman, Deputy Governor, BB welcomed Dr. Mujeri and his team. He said that in order to accomplish the broader goal of providing credible research support for designing rural finance policies and institutional reorganisation by the Bangladesh Bank and other policy makers in support of the long-term policy agenda of the government for transforming Bangladesh to a high income country by 2041, this study will be a very timely and useful one.
InM, in collaboration with Water.org, implemented an in-country exposure visit during 12-13 December 2021 in Rangpur and Thakurgaon districts which was participated by InM’s WCAD partner organisations. As a part of learning and gaining field-level operational experience on the WaterCredit Adoption (WCAD) programme, the exposure visit was organised by InM. It may be mentioned that the WCAD programme is currently being implemented by InM. Two successful partners of Water.org namely TMSS and RDRS were selected for the visit. These two partners are successfully implementing the WaterCredit programme for several years through which they have gained useful experience to share with other partners.
Under the WCAD programme, the participant partner organisations included IDF, SETU, BASA, BEES, CODEC, PMUK, SFDW, CDIP, DISA, and SDC; two senior staff from each partner participated in the exposure visit. InM facilitated the visit for creating opportunities for mutual learning by WCAD partner MFIs through which the partners got an opportunity to share their ideas and experiences regarding challenges and practical measures that could be adopted to facilitate effective implementation of the WCAD programme.
The objective of the visit was to learn WASH activities of Water.org partners, types of water and sanitation products being adopted in the plain land, awareness raising and borrower selection process, area selection criteria, loan disbursement process and related activities, WaterCredit loan celling, technical assistance, staff and beneficiaries training and capacity building process, water and sanitation product installation and maintenance process etc. In addition, RDRS and TMSS WaterCredit programmes were also discussed and on-sight visits were made to the programme areas. For InM, the aim was to create a strong bridge among the partner organisations so that all MFI partners could gain practical knowledge, ideas and experience from successful partners of Water.org.
During the exposure visit, the participants attended group meetings, courtyard sessions, and visited households to observe WASH interventions and share experiences of the borrowers. During the discussion sessions in the Kobirajhat branch of RDRS in Thakurgaon and Bhabanipur branch at Badorgonj of TMSS in Rangpur, overall implementation process and achievement of the programme, challenges in implementing WaterCredit programme, strategies to overcome the challenges, threats and opportunities, programme monitoring and evaluation process, programme outcomes/impacts, reporting system etc. were discussed.
Furthermore, the participants also gained experience from classroom trainings/visits, discussion with branch managers on WSS loan disbursement process, with field officers on programme monitoring, with higher officials about management strategies and feedback, opportunity of WaterCredit programme etc. A total of 20 participants from InM WCAD partner MFIs participated in this exposure visit which enabled them to gather useful field level experience on overall WaterCredit programme implementation. With successful ending of the visit, the participants seem to have instilled useful motivation and practical knowledge to adopt new leanings to implement and achieve the WCAD programme goals for respective organisations.
The objective of this study is to explore and suggest inclusive business models (IBMs) to encourage investments in CMSMEs in Bangladesh. The study has been initiated by the General Economics Division (GED) of the Bangladesh Planning Commission with support from UNDP. The study will explore and fulfill some key objectives, such as, understand the importance of CMSMEs for broad-based job creation and sustained economic growth along with poverty reduction in Bangladesh; assess the impact of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on CMSMEs in Bangladesh; evaluate the current investment scenario and financing barriers (e.g., access to finance) for the CMSMEs; analyse how digital adoption can be beneficial for the CMSMEs; and design an IBM considering the gender issues for strengthening investments in CMSMEs in Bangladesh.
Within the above objectives, the study intends to explore the current investment scenario and financing barriers for the CMSMEs and design the IBM as a recovery pathway covering longer term objectives. The study will also analyse important dimensions of CMSMEs in Bangladesh; its nexus with achieving the SDGs; and identify the link between investment in CMSMEs, employment, economic growth, and poverty eradication. The study will also evaluate the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on CMSMEs in Bangladesh, analyse the CMSMEs considering gender issues and digital adoption by CMSMEs–all of which can contribute to green recovery of CMSMEs from Covid-19 and ensure future growth in a sustainable manner.
