Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2007 : Investing in Talent: GF Hosts High Growth
Investing in Talent: GF Hosts High Growth Partner Forum
Grameen Foundation (GF) is working to help our global network of microfinance institutions (MFI) scale their operations to reach five million poor families by 2008. Like all rapidly growing organizations with bold missions, our partners face challenges associated with fast growth, including the need to attract, deploy and retain highly skilled and motivated staff.
To help address these issues, last fall, Grameen Foundation held its first-ever High Growth Partner Forum to provide training to more than 45 leaders from our 16 High Growth partners (organizations committed to the most rapid scaling of their operations). Together, these partners serve more than 2,690,000 clients worldwide. The wide-ranging workshop and roundtable discussions touched on many of the burning issues facing MFIs: managing human resources, developing innovative products to help the poor, and securing capital for new loans. In addition to providing an opportunity for our partners
to share their experiences, the forum ended with a visit to CASHPOR, a GF partner serving more than 209,000 clients in northern India.
Participant feedback from the three-day High Growth Partner Forum:
“I want to thank you all for a splendid week with our…partners and our visit to [Grameen
Foundation local partner] CASHPOR. What a fabulous experience for me and our partners. The program was so rich and the audience so eager to learn and to know one another.” –Janet Thompson, a Grameen Foundation Board Member and former Citibank Director, served as a volunteer facilitator for the conference.
“The forum was very beneficial for us. Given the variety in workshops and lectures, the participants could find something of interest to learn all the time. And meeting high growth partners from around the world allowed us to compare/contrast our respective trajectories and reflect upon our roadmap ahead.” -Otmani Zine El Abidine, Managing Director FONDEP, Morocco
“It was a week of learning and fruitful encounters with other [GF] partners.” –Amy de los Santos, Director for Field Operation and Client Management Services TSPI, Philippines
Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2007 : Investing in Talent: GF Hosts High Growth
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
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