Almost 1000 trainers and counselors have been trained by MFC!

As a result 100 000 low-income households know how to make better financial decisions and improve household finances
Since 2004 the Financial Education Program (FEP) has built the capacity of nearly 1000 local trainers and counselors in 16 countries reaching out to over 100 000 low income households. FEP promotes an important aspect of social change improving the financial capabilities and encouraging proactive financial behavior of low-income households in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Katarzyna Pawlak (MFC Deputy Director, Poland): We observed large scale self-exclusion from the financial system. One of the reason was the lack of trust in the system in the 90s. That is why we decided that the knowledge and practice related to systematic planning, regular saving and smart borrowing is a must for increased financial inclusion and reduced risk of client overindebtness.

MFC started its financial education program in 2004 with the support of Microfinance Opportunities and Freedom from Hunger that shared a series of financial education curricula which MFC adapted to the transitioning context. Examples include the Plan Your Future module which through a series of interactive exercises and games, including field visits to local financial institutions, helps low-income families develop basic financial literacy skills and increase their trust and understanding of the financial landscape.
Anna Kosido (Rural Development Foundation Financial Education Coordinator, Poland): Plan Your Future improves financial capability and behavior of low-income households in the area of debt management and saving. It helps people to understand the responsibility of borrowing, overcome indebtedness and learn how to save even if economical situation of a household is very limited.

Training of low-income people, Plan Your Future, Tajikistan 2011. Participants learn how to plan their savings and be financially prepared for unexpected expenses.

Training many Polish NGOs enabled MFC to create a fin-edu platform in Poland and establish a Polish Partnership for Financial Education. During the last 7 years the Plan Your Future module has been translated into 10 languages and adapted to the context of 12 countries. In Europe and Central Asia MFC has entered into partnerships with organizations including microfinance associations (AMFOK, NAMOCU, AMFOT), other NGOs (Habitat International), international donors (UNDP, EBRD, ICCO, Levis Foundation, CEE Trust, ILO, EU), MFIs and banks (Polish Rural Foundation, MDF Kamurj, Aregak, Partner, Prizma, ENDA, banks in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova) to build the capacity of local institutions. Additionally, new modules were developed to respond to particular needs of low-income households and microfinance clients for financial education such as Debt Management, Remittance and Risk Management.

Training of Trainers (ToT) on Debt Management, Poland 2010. Trainers obtain knowledge and develop skills necessary to teach about understanding the responsibility of borrowing, overcome indebtedness and prevent overindebtedness.

When the financial crisis deeloped and many microfinance clients were hit by repayment problems, MFC adapted a course on Debt Management and introduced financial counseling tool to help clients and MFIs prevent and deal with loan repayment issues. Since 2007, around 4000 clients have been trained or counseled in debt management in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina Macedonia and Kyrgyzstan. The recent MFC project in Uzbekistan resulted in integrating financial education into the Welfare Improvement Strategy 2011-2014. While MFC is celebrating its success of reaching 100.000 families region-wide and thanks its partners and supporters, it is exploring new frontiers of innovation. In the autumn of this year, MFC will finalize the first experiment linking financial education and various motivational systems to save (including postal and sms reminders, matching opportunity and lottery).
If you are interested to learn more, support or become a partner of MFC Financial Education Program, please contact Nina Jozefina Bak, Communication Coordinator at ninajozefina@mfc.org.pl or Monika Milowska, Financial Education Program Manager at: monika@mfc.org.pl or visit our website www.mfc.org.pl/finedu.