Workshopping MLF’s social mission

We’ve just held a workshop with 22 MicroLoan Foundation staff, including management staff from the UK and Malawi, as well as Malawi’s Regional Managers, key Branch Managers and a couple of Loan Officers to give a flavour of what’s happening on the ground. The purpose of the workshop was to get everyone discussing what they think the social mission of MicroLoan Foundation is, and how this links in to the piloting activity we’re doing (which is focusing on social assessment, training feedback and getting a sense of why clients are exiting).

Lots of animated discussions were had and the levels of enthusiasm were really encouraging. The group agreed that MLF social mission is all about client empowerment, the sustainability of the client and MLF, and the requirement to focus on the poorest clients. Trying to get to the bottom of what MLF needs to do better to achieve this mission included listening better to clients’ suggestions, improving training for clients and Loan Officers, being more aware of exactly what the poverty status of clients is so we know if we’re really reaching the poorest, and developing social targets for the organisation to assess itself against. The pilots I’m working on will directly link into these areas of development.

It was a powerful day, and inspiring to see how everyone understood the various issues at hand, and to have the opportunity to incorporate their suggestions into the ongoing piloting activity.