Program and RMC
In September 2001, Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and its partners, Fund for Support of Small Entrepreneurship (FORA) and Alternative Credit Technologies (ACT), were awarded a grant by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the Microfinance Sector Support Program in Russia. The objective of the four-year program are to support the development of a sustainable Russian microfinance industry through the creation of a Russian national best practice microfinance center and to support the growth and development of Russian indigenous microfinance institutions through the Innovation Support Facility?Targeted Grants Program.
Russian Microfinance Center
Through its experience worldwide, including Russia, DAI will set up the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC), a fully functioning microfinance service center. The center will offer Russian non-bank financial institutions training, financial and operational technical assistance, and other services on a full cost-recovery basis. The RMC will operate according to sound business principles and will seek to provide high quality, fee-based services to microfinance institutions, while embracing all microfinance service provision models and methodologies. Large or small, member based, or profit generating, all types of microfinance institutions will have the opportunity to receive services from the RMC. Specifically, the RMC will offer the following services:
Training: The RMC will provide general introduction courses for individuals and organizations, as well as customized training programs.
Directed Technical Assistance: Technical assistance will be provided by local and international consultants to Russian microfinance institutions in the areas of human resource development, financial management, management information systems, new product development, and internal controls as well as in other operational spheres.
Information Clearinghouse: The RMC will collect, translate, and disseminate Russian and international best practices studies, training materials, research papers, and information on current legal and regulatory issues to its clients.
Benchmarking and National Performance Standards: The RMC will take the initiative in setting national performance standards for Russian microfinance institutions, drawing on resources from within Russia and from international resources such as the Microbanking Bulleting.
Other Information Services: The RMC will promote networking and information exchanges between microfinance institutions and other service providers in Russia.
Policy Support: The RMC will cooperate with other microfinance institutions to facilitate the development of a policy strategy supported by the broader microfinance community. This will include monitoring the current environment and efforts to improve the environment for microfinance over the long term as well as raising the profile of microfinance before members of government, the broader business community, and the general public.
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