The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU) has organized an annual conference scheduled for 20th – 21st June 2013 at Hotel Africana, Kampala , Uganda.
AMFIU annually organizes an annual pre-AGM conference which is an important activity for the microfinance stakeholders. The 2 day conference normally precedes the annual general meeting (AGM). For the last 13 years this conference has been a resounding success bringing together over 200 participants to discuss contemporary issues in the microfinance sector.
This year AMFIU has again organized an annual microfinance conference under the ‘Managing Risks in Microfinance: a Critical Challenge for the Sustainability of the Uganda Microfinance Industry’. The theme was selected because the microfinance industry in Uganda is facing several risks which affect the performance of individual MFIs and the sector as a whole. The topic concerns MFIs, the government, donors, investors as well as support organizations.
Informal Information Exchange meeting on Housing Microfinance
AMFIU has again organized an Informal Information Exchange meeting to focus on Housing Microfinance on 5th April 2013 at 2pm at the Lion Centre, Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
The demand for housing microfinance is increasing yet many microfinance institutions are grappling with developing such a product. In view of this, the Centre for Innovation in Shelter and Finance, Habitat for Humanity International, Africa and the Middle East Area Office will be launching a programme in Uganda to facilitate financial services providers to develop housing microfinance products.
The IIE meeting has therefore been organized to get an insight about this upcoming project and share experience on the performance of microfinance housing products.
There wil be a networking cocktail after the meeting.
Participation is free of charge but through registeration.
Call Telephone (256) 414 259176 or (256) 312 265540. You can write to
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by 2nd April 2013.
AMFIU has organised a half day Microfinance Informal Information Exchange meeting to be held on Tuesday, 26th February 2013 Fairway Hotel starting at 2.00PM. The meeting will focus mainly on new mobile phone technologies that are transforming banking and microfinance in the East African Region and beyond.
There will be a presentation on ELMA, an e-commerce platform that can used by Banks, MDIs, MFIs and SACCOs. As you are already aware Centenary Bank has just launched its Centemobile, which is powered by ELMA.
Participation is through registeration on email:
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or 0312 265540 by Friday 22nd February 2013
Today the Minister of State Microfinance, Caroline Okao Amali, launched the 2012 Citi Microentrepreneurship awards 2012 at the Citi Bank Office. The programme aims at promoting the effective role that microfinance plays in poverty alleviation and is organized in collaboration with AMFIU. The programme that started in 2006 in Uganda has seen over 129 entrepreneurs take home awards.
According to Chinedu Ikwudinma, Citibank MD, Citi Foundation is committing $75,000 towards the micro entrepreneurship awards in Uganda. He further said that the 2012 awards are taking place in 28 countries including Uganda.
The goal of the program is to promote micro entrepreneurs and increase awareness of their financial services needs, in what is broadly known as microfinance. More importantly the aim of this initiative is to put the spotlight on local micro entrepreneurs who are helping to lift the economic fortunes of their communities, generating greater opportunities to bring capital into their developing economies.
Informal Information Exchange and Networking, Fairway Hotel, 15th November 2012
AMFIU will hold a half day microfinance informal information exchange meeting for stakeholders on Thursday, 15th November 2012 at Fairway Hotel starting at 2.00pm. This will be followed by a networking cocktail.
The meeting will mainly focus on 2 issues namely;
The Proposed amendments in the Credit Reference Bureau and how it will affect the microfinance industry
Developing gender sensitive products: dissemination of findings from the Mountain of the Moon and GIZ gender sensitive product development project.
All stakeholders are invited to participate by registering with
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by 12th November 2012. Participation is free of charge.
Agri-Finance Marketplace at Mayor’s Garden, Lira, 1st November 2012
Agri-Finance Marketplace, Mayor’s Garden, Lira, On 1st November 2012
On 1st November 2012 there will be an Agri-Finance Marketplace that will be held in Mayor’s Garden, Lira. The Marketplace aims to bring together Farmers and Finance Service Providers from the Northern Region of Uganda for better information sharing, dialogue and interaction.
Farmers will have the opportunity to know better the existing financial services for farming. They will have face to face inquiries and discussions with the financial institutions that have presence in the Northern Region to share questions and demands and give evidence of their capacities for accessing financial services.
Finance service providers will have the opportunity to exhibit in an attractive way their products to facilitate information sharing and match making with interested clients. Other providers like traders and input dealers will share their own financial services to farmers and their relationships with the finance institutions.
During the discussion forum, finance service providers will share their challenges and opportunities with farmers and look for appropriate products for mutual benefit. Additionally, the government bodies that are committed to support Agri-business will bring in their own experiences on finance for farming and discover new opportunities for their farmers in their sub-counties, districts and region at large.
You can book space by 25th October 2012
For further information
Ms. Sharon Againe, APF Uganda Network Assistant Facilitator, Kampala
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and tel.0779791780,
Mr. Aroma Patrick, Event Coordinator, Lira
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and tel.0782658458
Agricultural Finance Workshop, Hotel Pan Afric, Lira on 31st of October 2012
APF, GIZ, AMFIU and partners of APF have organised the first joint Agricultural Finance workshop that will be held in Lira at Hotel Pan Afric on 31st of October 2012.
The workshop will precede the Agri-Profocus Market Place/ Exhibition that will take place on 1st November. The workshop aims to bring together Farmers, Finance Service Providers and other actors of the financial sector from the Northern Region of Uganda to share and discuss important developments and innovations in the agricultural finance sub sector in Uganda.
2012 Annual Conference and the 1st African SPM Conference
The 2012 Annual Conference and the 1st African SPM Conference from 27/09/2012 to 02/10/2012, Kampala (Uganda)
The Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN) will organize its 11th Annual Conference and the 1st African SPM Conference in Kampala, Uganda, from September 27th to 02 October, 2012
The Citi Micro entrepreneurship awards 2011 around the corner
The Citigroup Foundation will once again support the 2011 Microentrepreneur Awards that is organised by AMFIU to promote the effective role that microfinance plays in poverty alleviation and the extraordinary contributions that individual microentrepreneurs have made to the economic stability of their families as well as their communities in Uganda.
The theme for this year is Entrepreneur Creativity & self sustainability. This is the 5th Citi Microentrepreneurs Award since 2006.
Microfinance institutions can send in applications for their two best clients who may also include a Woman or a person with disability taking into consideration the selection criteria that can be downloaded here.
Clearly provide a history or tracking of the client’s borrowing/saving, business growth, employment creation, sustainability, financial discipline, family impact and innovation/ creativity. Attach pictures/ photos for the entrepreneur’s business activity.
The Association of microfinance Association of Uganda has been trying to bring MFIs back to the drawing board by encouraging them to become socially accountable and relevant to their clients through social performance management (SPM). SPM is about making an organization's social mission a reality. It involves taking the steps to deliberately manage and achieve desired social results.
AMFIU has been creating awareness and promoting social performance management among its members and the microfinance industry in Uganda and has had a positive response from the practitioners on this issue.
It is in this regard that AMFIU organized an award ceremony to recognize microfinance institutions that have made an effort in introducing and implementing SPM in their organizations. The award ceremony took take place on 27th September 2011 at Serena Hotel and BRAC Uganda emerged the overall Gold Winner.
The award was received by Khondoker Ariful Islam, the Country Representative of BRAC Uganda. In his remarks, he retaliated BRAC’s achievements as based upon their role as a learning organization and the coordinated program management system, monitoring, auditing and research departments that strives to learn everything about microfinance programs - including what works, as well as what doesn’t. He further said that each branch has a review committee that visits and talks to their members to see their progress. He emphasized that this kind of operation has given them confidence to serve their clients.
After every 2 months, AMFIU sends out an electronic newsletter (The e-Bulletin) to members and partners. The aim is to keep them updated on the network activities and any new developments in the industry. Below are the latest issues.
Outreach of Microfinance from urban and semi-urban to rural and remote areas of Uganda is the most contentious issue of industry. At the first IIE of 2007, two very different presentations were given, yet they tackle the same theme: Outreach of Microfinance. The first presentation took the avenue of technology. SEVAK solutions is a company with the mission to apply the opportunities of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to Microfinance consumers.
The Capacity Building SEEP/AMFIU Grant In a continued effort to develop and expand a professional human resource base in the microfinance industry, AMFIU in partnership with the SEEP Network secured a grant to sponsor microfinance senior and middle level managers (AMFIU members only) on a cost-sharing Scholarship basis for a diploma in microfinance.
The Local Rating service for the Microfinance industry in Uganda
The Rating service in Uganda is a new concept that is slowly spreading within the microfinance industry. The spread of the microfinance services in Uganda has correspondingly brought about various challenges to the microfinance sector; the challenges faced by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) tend to differ from institution to institution.
The 2006 Citigroup Micro-entrepreneurship Awards Program
The 2006 Microentrepreneurship Awards program, which Citigroup has implemented in partnership with Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda (AMFIU) and ACCION, has been a resounding success. More than 70 microentrepreneurs applied to the program through over 40 MFIs and SACCOs, and 11 microentrepreneurs will be taking home awards.
As you may know, a group of stakeholders, including SUFFICE, FSDU, AMFIU, MSC Ltd, GTZ/Sida and Rural SPEED have created a local rating fund to make ratings available to smaller MFIs, including SACCOs, in Uganda. The local rating fund subsidizes up to 85% of the cost of the ratings.
Over 150 guests celebrate AMFIU's 10th anniversary in Jinja. The day was May 3rd 2006. The place was Jinja Nile Resort Hotel. Attendance was a cross-section of over 150 important people. Excitement filled the place. Each year since 1996 AMFIU has been gathering for annual workshop and Annual General Meeting (the author is one of the privileged few who have attended all the annual functions of AMFIU). This year, It was a time to reflect on the birth and growth of a microfinance industry with so many achievements just in ten years!
A growing number of people come daily to the AMFIU website to access information about micro-finance in Uganda. This has put us in the privileged position of being able to reach the masses on behalf of our friends and sponsors. Therefore, if you would also like your organization's voice to be heard, click here become an advertiser.
Become A Partner
With each passing year, our workload here at AMFIU increases. We would not be able to manage everything that we do if it was not for the help of our dedicated and faithful partners. We urge whoever feels they can contribute to micro-finance in Uganda to partner with us. Click here to view all our other partners.
The theme for this year is Entrepreneur Creativity & self sustainability. This is the 5th Citi Microentrepreneurs Award since 2006.