MIS در صنعت میکروفاینانس Management Information Systems (MIS) for Microfinance

Microfinance is considered to be an effective tool in alleviating poverty by increasing income of poor households and reducing their vulnerabilities. Today, when the majority of the world’s population is living below subsistence level, more than 3,000 organizations are providing microfinance services to millions of the world’s poor. Yet most of the poor still have little or no access to financial services. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have reached a mere 70 million out of 2 billion poor people. The task of reaching such a big number is a major challenge. With a population of around 150 million people, Pakistan has big potential for microfinance. 70% of the population lives in rural areas. Despite achieving a growth rate of 6- 7% in recent years, poverty has increased by 2%, showing low penetration of economic benefit to the lower income sector. Unemployment rate stands over 8% and per capita income is US$652. The financial sector of the country comprises some 35 scheduled banks. These banks have an outstanding portfolio of US$20.7 billion against 3.2 million accounts and they hold deposits worth US$33.3 billion in 28.5 million deposit accounts. More than 50% of the deposits and portfolio are concentrated in three main banks with large branch networks. 2 The microfinance target market is over 7 million households. Major players within the microfinance sector include: • Khushhali Bank • Khashf Foundation • Rural Support Programms (RSPs) • Bank of Khyber • The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd • Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) • Sindh Agricultural & Forestry Workers’ Cooperative Organization • Sungi Development Foundation • Taraqee Foundation (TF) • Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) • The Bank of Khyber (BOK) • ORIX Leasing Pvt. Ltd • Network Microfinance Bank and • Rozgar Microfinance Bank The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd (FMFB) is the first private-sector, regulated MFI in Pakistan, with operations all over the country in rural and urban areas. FMFB was formed as a result of the transformation of the microfinance program of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), which has been running an integrated rural development programme in the remote and isolated north of Pakistan for the past 20 years. FMFB has transformed its technology solution from a very basic level to one of the most advanced within its peer groups. The Microfinance program at AKRSP started its operations with a manual system, then semiautomated and finally a full-fledged MIS for loans. The transformation from NGO to a microfinance bank posed a big challenge to its MIS solution as the existing MIS did not have any functionality related to deposits, remittances and insurance that the bank envisaged to offer. The challenge was addressed through the following strategy: • Establishment of a strong IT department • Short-term solution that involved integration of an offthe-shelf application with its existing portfolio management system. • Long-term plan to build an enterprise MIS with the functionality to deliver all banking and microfinance services, and flexible enough to meet the current and future technology requirements of the bank. The management of FMFB had demonstrated their understanding and commitment in making IT one of its strategic objectives and to opt for best practices in MIS. FMFB has been able to implement an advanced MIS that has already started to make positive differences to its business. As a result of its strong and flexible MIS, FMFB has been able to introduce a wide range of products and services, including loans, deposits, remittances and insurance. The system is used to obtain maximum information to support timely decisions.