About the Center

The Center for Microfinance Leadership brings the best of leadership development and organizational diversity initiatives to the microfinance sector through workshops, coaching and support for organizational change.

The Center helps CEOs and senior managers hone the skills needed to steer their institutions through this period of rapid change and commercialization.

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Mission

The mission of the WWB Center for Microfinance Leadership is to support the development of a diverse set of principled, visionary leaders and high performing, meritocratic organizations for the microfinance industry.

Background

WWB’s commitment to supporting principled leaders at the helm of gender diverse microfinance providers (MFPs) dates to its establishment as a global network in 1979. Today the WWB network includes some of the most celebrated leaders in the industry, representing a global commitment to responsive, sustainable microfinance. Read more >>

Upcoming Events

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Center Brochure

Download the Center for Mircofinance Leadership brochure. Also available in Spanish.

Why Gender Diversity Matters

Gender diversity matters in microfinance. WWB champions gender diversity because we believe that diverse perspectives lead to stronger decisions and healthier, more vibrant organizations. Incorporating women’s voices when designing and delivering microfinance products is particularly important when a majority of clients are women. Equally as important, microfinance clients often speak of the inspiration they derive from seeing powerful women leaders in the organizations that serve them. How best to achieve diversity? The answer lies in leadership and technical skill development of individual, high-potential leaders as well as in organizational transformations to ensure that all women and men work in environments where they can perform, excel and lead.

Featured Publication

“Transforming the Landscape of Leadership in Microfinance: Maintaining the Focus on Women” introduces WWB’s new methodology for helping MFIs support gender diversity at all levels of their institution. WWB has expanded its Women’s Leadership Development Program, which works with individuals, to include a tool that focuses on the challenges and opportunities microfinance institutions face in the attraction, retention, and promotion of qualified women staff members - the Organizational Gender Assessment.

Upcoming Workshop: Coaching Workshop

Eligibility: The Center’s offerings are available to WWB network members and the top 200 MFPs worldwide who demonstrate excellence as measured by the Composite Ranking of The Microfinance Information Exchange (The MIX). The MIX ranking measures high outreach, low transaction costs, profitability and transparency. For more information on The MIX Composite Ranking, visit: www.mixmarket.org

June 15, 2010 - June 17, 2010, United Kingdom

Latest Headlines

  • Video: Women’s Leadership Exchange
    Fri, March 12, 2010

    WWB’s second annual Women’s Leadership Exchange for Microfinance was held from December 1 to 5, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants, all of whom are graduates of WWB’s Women in Leadership Workshop, included a group of 8 senior and mid level managers from WWB’s African network member institutions.

  • Women’s World Banking’s Center for Microfinance Leadership hosts its first Advanced Leadership Workshop in Philadelphia
    Fri, March 12, 2010

    Women’s World Banking’s Center for Microfinance Leadership hosted its first Advanced Leadership Workshop in Philadelphia, USA from March 1 to 5, 2010. The course targets senior executives, their teams and others in advanced leadership roles in the microfinance industry, challenging them to reflect on their own leadership, think strategically in competitive and evolving environments, build financial and social acumen to navigate the complexity of the industry, and effectively manage relationships with their clients, staff, and external stakeholders.

  • The Inner Circle: Irene Dorner, HSBC's New CEO, On Not Playing by the Rules
    Thu, March 11, 2010

    In an article published on March 10th in The Inner Circle (membership required) web site, titled Irene Dorner, HSBC's New CEO, On Not Playing by the Rules, Elizabeth Lynch, Manager for WWB's Center for Microfinance Leadership responds:

    I was encouraged by Irene Dorner’s remarks on International Women’s Day, and her support for the elimination of barriers for women to reinforce rather than erode an organization’s meritocratic foundation. Women's World Banking (WWB), a leading global microfinance network, works with microfinance institutions on precisely this issue: how can organizations invest the extra effort and attention to hiring, retaining and advancing qualified women without sacrificing the quality of its human talent.

  • Women’s World Banking's 2010 Women in Leadership Workshop
    Wed, January 13, 2010
    Women’s World Banking's 2010 Women in Leadership Workshop, co-designed by Wharton, is taking place in Bangalore, India from January 11th to 15th. The workshop represents WWB’s overarching commitment to develop the female leadership and management capacity of the microfinance industry worldwide. The five-day program, which targets female managers and CEOs of MFIs is designed to help women develop the leadership skills necessary to become effective managers and innovators in their field. The participants in the workshop include 15 women in mid- and senior-level management from 10 MFIs in 5 countries in South and East Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Mongolia and the Philippines). Two participants are recipients of the 2009 Financial Women’s Association (FWA) award. Each year, the FWA award helps to fund executive leadership training for women working in microfinance organizations around the world. This year’s recipients are Carol Furtado, Chief Operating Officer (Southern Region) of Ujjivan Microfinance and Adiyahuu Yanzan, Head of Credit Review Department of XacBank Mongolia.

    Press Coverage

See full headline list