Digital Finance for Microfinance Training Course

Participants can convert customer evidence into requirements for inclusive digital financial products.

• Jobs-to-be-Done interviews structured around financial tasks and constraints
• Persona design using livelihoods, cash cycles, literacy and device access
• Map rural connectivity, handset capability and assisted-service dependencies
• Gender and disability barriers identified through disaggregated customer research
• Service blueprints connecting customer actions, staff processes and systems
• Product requirements prioritised with MoSCoW and customer-value evidence

Participants can produce a customer-centred proposition for a selected digital microfinance service.

• Value proposition canvas applied to smallholder, trader and salaried segments
• Design onboarding flows with language, consent and accessibility requirements
• Savings, credit and payment features sequenced around customer cash cycles
• Repayment reminders designed using behavioural prompts and customer preferences
• Exception journeys specified for failed payments, disputes and lost phones
• Draft a digital product concept note with acceptance criteria

Participants can select and govern delivery channels suited to customer needs and institutional economics.

• Channel portfolio choices across branches, agents, USSD, apps and call centres
• Agent network models compared: master agent, aggregator and direct management
• Agent selection criteria covering liquidity, location, reputation and capacity
• Float management controls for cash-in, cash-out and settlement shortages
• Commission structures aligned with transaction volume, quality and compliance
• Mystery shopping and field supervision used for agent service assurance

Participants can map secure payment flows and identify operational controls for digital transactions.

• Payment rails mapped from customer instruction to final settlement
• Mobile money collection flows reconciled with loan management system postings
• Push and pull payment mechanisms compared for repayment collection
• Transaction limits configured by customer tier, risk and regulation
• Failed transaction handling defined through reversal, dispute and escalation rules
• Daily reconciliation matched across provider statements, bank accounts and ledgers

Participants can design responsible digital credit rules that balance speed, access and repayment capacity.

• Digital credit lifecycle from application through disbursement, collection and closure
• Alternative data sources assessed for relevance, consent and bias
• Scorecard design combining repayment history, affordability and behavioural indicators
• Decision rules set for approval, referral, decline and manual review
• Loan limits and repeat borrowing governed by performance thresholds
• Affordability assessments documented under responsible lending principles

Participants can monitor a digital credit portfolio using early-warning indicators and cohort analysis.

• Vintage analysis separates underwriting quality from portfolio growth effects
• Cohort repayment curves tracked by channel, segment and loan cycle
• PAR, write-off and roll-rate metrics interpreted for digital portfolios
• Early-warning triggers identify repayment stress before delinquency escalates
• Champion-challenger testing compares scorecards without uncontrolled portfolio exposure
• Portfolio dashboards connect approval rates, losses, yield and complaints

Participants can calculate the financial case for a digital channel, product or partnership.

• Unit economics calculated for acquisition, transactions, servicing and collections
• Activity-based costing assigns branch, agent and digital channel expenses
• Customer lifetime value estimates revenue, retention and credit-loss assumptions
• Break-even analysis tests adoption, transaction volume and pricing scenarios
• Build a five-year business case with capital and operating costs
• Sensitivity analysis tests adoption delays, losses and provider fee changes

Participants can define partnership structures and integration requirements for digital finance services.

• Partner due diligence assesses financial strength, licensing and operating capability
• Commercial models compared: revenue share, per-transaction fee and minimum commitment
• API integration map defines data fields, authentication and exception handling
• Service-level agreements specify availability, response times and incident responsibilities
• Data ownership clauses address access, retention, portability and termination
• Vendor governance forums track delivery, risks, changes and unresolved issues

Participants can design proportionate onboarding and financial crime controls for digital microfinance.

• Risk-based customer due diligence aligned with FATF Recommendations
• e-KYC workflows combine identity verification, liveness checks and screening
• Tiered account limits linked to identity assurance and transaction risk
• Sanctions and politically exposed person screening escalation procedures defined
• Transaction monitoring scenarios identify structuring, mule activity and unusual patterns
• Customer consent records retained for identity checks and data processing

Participants can embed fair treatment, transparency and redress into digital finance service design.

• Disclosure design tests price, fees, penalties and key product terms
• Plain-language consent screens address data sharing and automated decisions
• Dark patterns identified in enrolment, borrowing and repayment interfaces
• Complaints taxonomy captures access, fraud, service and conduct issues
• Redress procedures define acknowledgement, investigation, resolution and customer communication
• Over-indebtedness safeguards include cooling-off periods and repeat-loan controls

Participants can establish risk controls for cyber threats, fraud events and service disruptions.

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework applied to MFI digital service controls
• Threat modelling identifies account takeover, SIM swap and social engineering
• Multi-factor authentication selected by channel risk and customer accessibility
• Fraud rules detect velocity anomalies, device changes and suspicious beneficiaries
• Incident response playbooks assign containment, investigation, notification and recovery actions
• Business continuity plans cover provider outages, manual fallback and communications

Participants can govern customer data while using analytics for service improvement and risk management.

• Data inventory classifies customer, transaction, credit and operational records
• Data quality rules test completeness, validity, timeliness and duplicate records
• Role-based access controls restrict sensitive data by job responsibility
• Privacy impact assessments evaluate purpose, minimisation, retention and sharing
• Model monitoring checks drift, bias and adverse customer outcomes
• Management dashboards combine adoption, activity, risk and service indicators

Participants can define operating processes and financial controls for integrated digital services.

• Core banking integration requirements mapped across accounts, loans and general ledger
• Straight-through processing boundaries identified with manual exception queues
• Three-way reconciliation matches platform records, bank statements and ledger balances
• Suspense account ageing monitored for unresolved digital transaction exceptions
• IFRS 9 impairment inputs considered for digital credit portfolios
• Segregation of duties applied to configuration, approvals and reconciliations

Participants can prepare an operating model that assigns ownership for digital finance delivery and control.

• Target operating model defines accountable owners, teams and decision rights
• RACI matrices clarify product, technology, operations, risk and finance responsibilities
• Process redesign removes duplicate approvals and paper-based handoffs
• Staff capability assessment identifies training needs for digital service delivery
• Change communications address staff incentives, customer concerns and adoption barriers
• Pilot governance sets scope, decision gates, escalation and learning cycles

Participants can plan a controlled digital finance rollout with measurable milestones and executive oversight.

• Roadmap sequencing aligns foundational controls, pilot releases and scale decisions
• Minimum viable product scope defined through customer value and risk criteria
• Implementation milestones include integration, testing, training and readiness approval
• Balanced scorecard measures adoption, economics, portfolio quality and customer outcomes
• Benefits realisation tracking compares approved assumptions with actual results
• Board reporting packs present decisions, risks, investment and performance trends

Participants can build, review and present a complete digital finance implementation pack for a microfinance institution.

• Define the target segment, problem statement and digital proposition
• Present customer journey, channel model and operating workflow design
• Quantify unit economics, investment needs and financial return assumptions
• Set credit, fraud, cybersecurity, conduct and third-party risk controls
• Sequence roadmap milestones, governance forums and performance indicators
• Review implementation packs against executive, customer and regulatory expectations