[Microinsurancefocus] Microfin "Business Planning" course, Washington DC, Oct 25-29

Chuck Waterfield waterfield at microfin.com
Wed Jun 16 17:54:54 CEST 2010


Business Planning and Financial Projections with Microfin

 Washington DC, USA, 26 - 30 October 2009

Summary 
This course guides participants through a step-by-step process for developing 
a business plan and financial projections for a microfinance institution using 
Microfin 4.0, the sophisticated financial projections software that was developed 
by the facilitators of this training course, Chuck Waterfield and Tony Sheldon, 
with financial support from CGAP, Women’s World Banking, and Sida.  

Microfin has long been the microfinance "industry standard" for planning and 
budgeting.  Microfin allows you to develop detailed five-year financial projections 
and budgets for your institution, and to simulate the impact of key decisions 
on your institution.

Microfin 4.0 includes 200 major enhancements over Microfin 3.0, including an 
expanded range of financial products, improved guidance and error-checking 
features, versatile graphing, and much more.

This fast-paced course is designed to be highly participatory, with a large 
amount of hands-on time working in groups at the computer, applying the software 
to a detailed case study.  In addition to the course manual, at the conclusion 
of the course, participants will receive a CD-ROM containing Microfin and the 
User’s Handbook.

By the end of the workshop you will have a better understanding of: 


• how to use Microfin to develop financial projections for your own institution 

• practical approaches to planning 
• the most important financial ratios to monitor, and how to interpret them 

• critical operational issues such as designing products to meet client needs, 
pricing your products, and focusing on loan officers to leverage institutional 
productivity 
• how to develop long-term, diversified financing strategies 

This workshop is facilitated by the two developers of Microfin, and is based 
on the CGAP Handbook they authored, Business Planning and Financial Modeling 
for Microfinance Institutions. They have taught this course in 20 countries 
around the world, and it is one of the most recognized and attended courses 
in all of microfinance. 

Agenda

Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.   Coffee, tea, and snacks will be provided 
daily.  Hotels or other accommodation are the responsibility of each participant 
and are not included in the course fee.

Day 1


• Overview of Business Planning: Participants will review and discuss the Business 
Planning framework. In particular, attention will be directed to the market-based 
approach of the framework. 
• Strategic Planning: This section will address the key steps of strategic 
planning – articulating the mission, identifying clients and markets, performing 
an environmental analysis, carrying out an institutional assessment, and developing 
an overall strategy. 
• Overview of Financial Management: We provide a brief overview of financial 
statements, the calculation of financial adjustments, and the key financial 
ratios used in the microfinance industry. 

Day 2


• Operational Planning and Introduction to Financial Modeling / Product Design: 
Over Days 2 through 5, we will apply the strategy developed on Day 1 to creating 
an operational plan and detailed financial projections, beginning with design 
of credit and savings products (loan amounts and terms by cycle, pricing, collateral, 
etc.). Small group exercises throughout will focus on applying a case study 
to the new version of the Microfin model. 

Day 3


• Establishing Marketing Channels: Operational planning continues with projecting 
the levels of activity for each credit and savings product, including growth 
strategies by branch, retention rates, and analysis of Microfin’s outputs and 
graphs. 

Day 4


• Determining Institutional Resources and Capacity: We will look at each aspect 
of institutional capacity (staffing, operating expenses, fixed assets), linking 
resources to credit and savings activity. 

Day 5


• Developing a Financing Strategy and Analyzing Projected Financial Statements 
and Ratios: We will look at designing a financing strategy by sources (income, 
grants, equity, debt) and by uses (operations, portfolio, and other assets). 
We will also review the overall financial projections 
• Advanced Microfin topics:  We will cover advanced topics in Microfin, including 
sensitivity analysis, variance analysis, creation of additional graphs, etc.

Registration
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The 
cost is $1,350 per participant payable upon registration, or $1,250 if registration 
and payment are received by September 26. To register, please complete and 
return the attached form and we will send you payment information. (Note: for 
groups of 2 or more people from the same organization, we offer a discounted 
fee of $1,250, or $1,150 if registration and payment are received by September 
26) NOTE: Hotel or other accommodations are the responsibility of each participant, 
and are not included in the course fee. 

Course fee must be paid in full at the time of registration. We cannot reserve 
places in the course without receiving payment. Please refer to our refund 
policy at the end of the registration form. 

NOTE: Laptop Computers: Participants will work on laptop computers during the 
course. It is not necessary for each participant to bring a laptop, because 
we will be working in groups of three. However, to help us in logistical planning, 
please indicate if you will be bringing a laptop computer.


Facilitators

Chuck Waterfield has over 20 years experience in microfinance, having served 
as microenterprise director for MEDA and for CARE International. His current 
work as an independent consultant includes clients such as ACCION, SIDA, the 
Ford Foundation, CGAP, Opportunity International, and Aspen Institute. He is 
on the faculty of Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs 
and was formerly on the faculty of the Boulder Microfinance Training Program 
and Southern New Hampshire University’s Microenterprise Development Institute. 
In addition to Microfin and the Business Planning handbook, he has a broad 
range of products and publications including the SEEP FRAME Tool, the CARE 
Credit and Savings Sourcebook, GEMINI Technical Note on Designing for Financial 
Viability, and CGAP Handbook on Management Information Systems.

Tony Sheldon has worked as an independent consultant with microfinance institutions 
in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe since 1990, primarily in 
the areas of financial management and business planning. He has also worked 
with several networks and funders, including the Ford Foundation, the SEEP 
Network, ShoreBank International, Women’s World Banking, CGAP, and the World 
Bank.  From 1997 to 2006 he was on the faculty of the Boulder Microfinance 
Training Program, and from 1999 to 2006 taught at Southern New Hampshire University’s 
Microenterprise Development Institute. He currently teaches at the Yale School 
of Management.  In addition to the business planning Handbook, he is the author 
of WWB’s “Principles and Practices of Financial Management” and a co-author 
of SEEP’s “Financial Ratio Analysis of MFIs” and editor of the SEEP Practitioner 
Learning Program series on "Improving Efficiency". 
 

Business Planning and Financial Projections with Microfin

Washington DC,  26-30 October 2009REGISTRATION FORM

(Just copy and paste this information into an email, fill in the blanks, and 
sent the email to Tony Sheldon at: jasber @ well.com)

Name                                                                                                                                        


Institution                                                                                                                                 


Address                                                                                                                                    


                                                                                                                                                 


Job Title:                                                                                                                                   


Telephone:                                                                                                                                  


Email:                                                                                                                                          


I ___ will  ____ will not be bringing a laptop computer

I ___ will  ____ will not need an invitation letter in order to apply for a 
visa to the US

 Payment of US$1,350.00 (payable to “Bering Consulting”), or $1,250 if registration 
and payment are received by September 26, must accompany or immediately follow 
this registration form in order to reserve a place in the workshop. (For groups 
of 2 or more from the same organization, the fee is $1,250, or $1,150 per person 
if paid by September 26). Payment may be made by wire transfer, check in US$, 
or in some cases by credit card. Please e-mail us for details prior to processing 
payment

Refund and Cancellation Policy: If you are unable to attend, you are free to 
send someone else in your place, but we would appreciate knowing in advance. 
 Cancellations are subject to the following refund policy: 


• 90% if notice of cancellation is received at least 30 days in advance of 
the beginning of the course 
• 75% if notice of cancellation is received 21-29 days in advance 
• 50% if notice of cancellation is received 14-20 days in advance 
• 25% if notice of cancellation is received 7-13 days in advance 
• No refunds can be made if notice of cancellation is received less than 7 
days before the beginning of the course.

 If you wish to be removed from our email list, hit REPLY and type REMOVE in 
the subject line.



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