The training was organized by the joint Project of the United Nations Development Programme and the Central bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan “Support to microfinance sector development” and GTZ’s Regional Programme “Assisting the development of microfinance in Central Asia”, in close partnership with the National Association of Microcredit Organizations and Credit Unions (NAMOCU) within the framework of efforts to create a sustainable framework of MFIs and introduce the best international practice into the microfinance activity in Uzbekistan.

The results of a diagnostic assessment of 20 microcredit organizations (MCOs) carried out by the specialists of the UNDP “Support to microfinance sector development” project across all the regions of Uzbekistan revealed that the majority of the organizations lack a clear vision of their further development and do not apply the tools of strategic planning to improve their performance. In addition, the training needs assessment conducted within the framework of the project demonstrated a strong demand among the organizations’ staff for training in strategic and business planning.

According to the Central Bank, the outreach of the microfinance sector is about 1%. Considering the existing demand, the majority of the MFIs would plan to increase their outreach. However, a rapid growth puts an additional pressure on organizational systems and changes their financial dynamics. A lack of effective strategic planning and projection tools in microfinance institutions can negatively impact their outreach efforts.

Therefore, in order to assist the MFIs in reaching their goals and targets and improving their performance, a strategic planning training for MFIs based on the materials of CGAP on business planning, gave the participants the necessary knowledge and skills on the strategic planning process, that would be helpful to them in achieving long-term sustainability.

Executive directors and managers of MCOs and credit unions from various regions of the country, including Ferghana, Andijan, Samarkand, Navoi, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Djizak, Bukhara and Tashkent region participated in the training. The participants gained knowledge on guidelines for preparing strategic and operational plans and, most importantly, detailed instructions on how to make accurate financial projections to accompany those plans. As a result of the training the participants had the opportunity to design strategies for their organizations, which would assist them in reaching their organizational and operational goals. Particularly, the strategic plan will allow the managers to know when the institution is deviating from their goals and in which direction it needs to move to get back on track.

Over the course, the participants were familiarized with the strategy design methods and reviewed the basic concepts of planning. The exercises and a case study, as well as the example of “Microfin” gave the participants a chance to apply the principals of strategic planning to practice. Besides, the trainers have also considered the cases for application of software in business planning such as PEARLS Monitoring System for credit unions and Microfin 4.0 for microcredit organizations.

The organizers believe that the obtained knowledge will allow the specialists of the MCOs and credit unions of Uzbekistan, to ensure the sustainability of their organizations, allow them to efficiently plan their activity, and apply best practice and policies in organizational and personnel management.