Microfinance is defined as the provision of appropriate financial services to the poor. the grass root level.
These services include savings, credit, remittances & insurance services. Many institutions in the country are now interested in providing financial services to the poor, largely due to the realization that the cost of service delivery can be reduced through innovative approaches & also due to the reality that the poor do save & do repay loans. In India, we have to models of microfinance in operat
ion, namely the community based microfinance or the SHG- bank linkage model & the Microfinance Institution (MFI) based lending model. Translating the vast potential of Microfinance Programmes under both these models with objective of improving the livelihoods and well-being of the poor requires development of appropriate skilled human resources especially suited, trained & willing to perform at the last mile, i.e. Organizations are also in constant need of committed staff capable of organizing SHGs, nurturing them and putting them on the road to self-sufficiency and sustainability, both financial and social. There are other support organizations which are engaged in building the capacities of grassroots implementing agencies and they too need staff which can train and support the field – practitioners. It is with the above realization that Centre for micro Finance (CmF), Jaipur had made an effort to develop the required skilled human resource for the microfinance and Livelihood sector by launching Certificate Course in microfinance & Rural livelihoods (mFRL )in 2008. The aim of this course is to inculcate the knowledge, skill and attitude required for this sector.
