• Meet the Team

“I really appreciated hearing superb technical presentations coming from Asia and Latin America which are out of the scope of our normal business for myself and my African colleagues.” Participant, WWB workshop on Rural Finance, 2007

Knowledge Sharing

WWB’s knowledge sharing program is based on two platforms, peer-to-peer learning and innovation-sharing in microfinance. The power of being a global network means that WWB can facilitate knowledge transfer through our best-practice workshops and cutting-edge trainings, as well as disseminate technical knowledge and case studies to the wider industry through how-to guides and publications.

Peer-to-Peer Exchanges

On-site peer-to-peer exchanges are powerful and practical means by which microfinance practitioners can learn directly from their peers through visits to their institutions. WWB brokers these exchanges between network members seeking practical knowledge on specific topics and other network members or industry players recognized as leaders on those topics. This hands-on approach plays a vital role in educating our network members about the newest innovations in microfinance.

For example, in 2007, managers from several Moroccan MFIs visited WWB network member Crédito de Arequipa in Peru to explore the feasibility of becoming regulated institutions. In an operations exchange, a network member in Pakistan hosted another from Bangladesh to share their experiences introducing individual lending. Similarly, a new branch manager and credit manager from Brazil visited their counterparts in Colombia in order to learn from their experiences in these roles.

Workshops

WWB workshops provide immediate and interactive exposure to timely issues in microfinance. Workshop topics—including product diversification, financial risk management, rural finance and insurance—are based on demand from the network members. The workshops are designed to support and enhance performance improvement among participating network members and usually are integrated with technical assistance in product development.

WWB workshops provide network members with valuable exposure to other leaders in microfinance, opportunities to be showcased, learning and networking opportunities, global perspectives and, where relevant, performance improvement support. In 2007, more than 700 microfinance practitioners participated in WWB workshops, 100 percent of whom rated the workshop at least 4 on a scale of 5.

Examples of WWB workshops include:

• The annual WWB Capital Markets Forum to help network members learn about and access commercial capital;
• Workshop on Rural Finance: Strategies to Offer Sustainable Services, a sharing of best practice and innovations amongst providers, value chain players, agricultural input dealers and banks;
• African Financial Risk Management Conference, co-hosted with Citi and presented in partnership with the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda, to help MFI managers understand financial risk management;
• Negotiating Access to Commercial Funding and the Capital Markets, a training co-hosted with the Pakistan Microfinance Network to help MFI managers better understand the local and international capital markets, and learn strategies for accessing commercial funds;
• Annual WWB Women in Leadership Workshop to build and develop the present and future generation of women leaders in the WWB network