Microfinance institutions get technology boost from Microsoft

MANILA, Philippines - Microsoft Corp., the world’s leading software company, will donate $1-million worth of software to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country to improve their services to poor households in the rural communities.

Microsoft, in partnership with the Seattle-based Grameen Foundation, will also train MFIs on how to integrate technology into their business strategy to enhance their ability to serve the poor.

“Many MFIs in the country consider IT as an expense rather than an investment,” Grameen Foundation country director Christopher Tan said in a media briefing.

“We have to change this mindset,” he said.

Tan said having an automated system in the MFIs would help reduce the transaction costs of borrowers.

Grameen Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that provides financial, technological support and management strategies to local MFIs.

Some 50 MFIs nationwide attended the Microsoft-Grameen Foundation’s first microfinance summit at the AIM.

The two-day summit was the first in a series of education and mentorship forums for microfinance that Microsoft and Grameen plan to conduct in various countries in the coming years.

Tan said participants would receive practical advice from IT experts on how to effectively use technology to enhance their work.

Microsoft said the Philippines was chosen because of its leadership in the microfinance industry. There are roughly 300 to 400 MFIs in the Philippines.

Microfinance provides a broad range of financial services (savings and credit) to poor and low-income households engaged in livelihood and microenterprise activities using non-traditional and innovative methodologies and approaches. – Helen Flores