Tonderai Saharo
The Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions (ZAMFI) will next week hold its annual Chief Executive Officers (CEO) winter school as the organisation forges ahead in sharpening executives with relevant skills in steering the growth of the microfinance industry.
The winter school will be held from 18-19 July at Great Zimbabwe Hotel and is running under the theme ‘Inside the captain’s cockpit/ flight deck’.
ZAMFI executive director, Godfrey Chitambo said the winter school is open to all senior managers including CEOs managing directors, company head of operations.
He said the major objective of the winter school is to provide a stage where practitioners and development partners meet in a serene and calm setting to assess and determine where the sector is heading to or where it ought to go.
“The winter school allows top managers to meet, reflect and re-strategize as they say iron sharpen iron and the CEO winter school will be a platform of finding various ways to control and steer the sector in the right direction using mechanism that are accessible and available,” he said.
Participants will have an opportunity of networking while sharing knowledge coupled by innovative discussions.
The winter school will also be a platform for agenda contributions towards setting sustainable financial inclusion and strategies for microfinance transformation from poverty alleviation to wealth creation.
Microfinance institutions play a crucial role in the growth of the economy as they provide a banking service to low-income individuals or groups who otherwise would have no other access to financial services.
They allow people to take on reasonable small business loans safely, in a manner that is consistent with ethical lending practices.
The other key role of MFIs are to offer credit accessibility to micro enterprise so as to increase their incomes and provide technical and/or other support to such groups through training, advice and counseling.
