CARIB-CAP: CAPACITY BUILDING PLAN

The development of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the English-speaking Caribbean has been hampered by several factors including outreach to the 'poor', high delinquency rates and sustainability. The Capacity Building Plan (CBP) activity of CARIB CAP seeks to address some of these factors as MFIs will get the opportunity to develop and carry out a plan to improve their performance.

The CBP will be hands-on and tailor-made for eligible MFIs and will address one or two specific areas in critical need of improvement according to the results of the Performance Assessments.

The plans will be submitted to a competitive process to obtain grant financing to carry out the CPB. The demand will be answered on a first come, first served basis.

Another feature of the CBP will involve the design and implementation of general training to various MFIs. MFIs will contribute in kind by lending their facilities, as well as the stationery and necessary training materials. Topics to be covered include:

• arketing microcredit loans;
• How to retain clients;
• General training in microfinance to Board Members;
• Training of managers;
• The importance of a good management information system;
• Remittances, microfinance and productive projects.

Each CBP proposal will be evaluated according to the following elements:

• Quality of CBP design including technical feasibility/evaluation: Proposed CBP has well-defined, realistic, and measurable goals, objectives and activities. Give no more than 3 measurable objectives, i.e. decrease delinquency by half; increase of 50% in ROE; and increase of 100% in loan officer productivity. Also, the CBP has identified clear and measurable outputs and outcomes and identified indicators for measuring tangible results and evidence of intangible results.
• Quality of CBP sustainability: Proposed CBP has identified a strategy to continue meeting the objectives and operating costs once the grant resources are expended.

Eligibility Criteria:

• MFIs must have participated in the Performance Assessment activity of the project;
• MFIs commit to implement the CBP as agreed upon;
• The MFI must provide counterpart of at least 10% of the cost of the CBP in cash.