MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Grameen Koota of India and Enda Inter-Arabe of Tunis Receive Consultants to Evaluate Standards for Open Source Information Platform

A recent press release announced that MFIs Grameen Koota of Bangalore, India and Enda Inter-Arabe of Tunis, Tunisia are working with consultants recommend Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to these MFIs [1]. ERP refers to the integration of an organization’s data and processes into one single system [2]. This process is meant to help the MFIs integrate better with Mifos, an open source information platform.

The volunteers are coming from Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP), the non-profit consulting arm of Accenture; Citigroup, a global financial services company; and Dow Chemical (Dow), a chemical manufacturer [1].

Grameen Koota’s most recent available financial statements from the end of 2006, available on the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse, report a gross loan portfolio of USD 10.4 million, total assets of USD 12.5 million, an ROA of 5.7%, an ROE of 72.3%, and a debt to equity ratio of 9.6 [3]. As of March 31, 2009, Enda reported a gross loan portfolio of USD 34.5 million, total assets of USD 37.7 million, an ROA of 2.88 %, an ROE of 9.09 and a debt to equity ratio of 2.13 [4]. [1].

GTC, the technology arm of the Grameen Foundation, focuses on technologies that help MFIs work more efficiently. The Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that provides financial and social management solutions for the microfinance industry. Founded in 1997 and based in Washington DC, U.S., the Grameen Foundation has a global partner network of 55 MFIs, according to the MIX Market. The company’s most recent financial statements from March 2008 report total assets of USD 25.0 million, total revenues of USD 21.9 million, and total expenses of USD 16.7 million [5].

A product team from GTC along with a group of volunteers from ADP, Citigroup and Dow traveled to Grameen Koota and Enda for three weeks to conduct interviews with staff and management. The interviews were intended to capture the various needs of the MFIs, from accounting to liquidity forecasting to HR management, and to provide a list of recommended solutions to improve operations. According to the Grameen Foundation’s press release, Grameen Koota and Enda are now evaluating the recommended systems and will soon be implementing a web-based ERP solution to improve integration with the Mifos platform [6]. Details about these solutions were not released.

For more information on Mifos and technology as it relates to the microfinance industry, please visit: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapitalorg-story-the-international-banking-systems-online-journal-comments-on-how-key-stakeholders-influence-purchasing-decisions-of-microfinance-institutions-in-relation-to-information-systems/.

Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) is the non-profit arm of Accenture, a global consulting firm. ADP provides advice and project management support for non-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations and donor agencies operating in the development sector. Accenture was founded in 1989 and is based in Dublin, Ireland. As of August 31, 2009 Accenture reported total assets of approximately USD 12.3 billion. Total assets for the non-profit arm are not available on the company’s website [7],

Citigroup is a global financial services company that was founded in 1812 and is based in New York, NY, U.S. As of June 30, 2009 Citigroup reported total assets of approximately USD 2.0 trillion, an ROA of -0.93% and an ROE of -12.74% [8].

The Dow Chemical Company engages in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, plastic materials, agricultural, and other specialized products and services worldwide. Dow was founded in 1897, and is based in Midland, Michigan, U.S. As of June 30, 2009, Dow reported total assets of USD 66.2 billion [9].

By: Diya Chopra, Research Associate

Bibliography:

[1] PR Web

http://www.prweb.com/releases/microfinance/software/prweb3044904.htm

[2] Tech FAQ

http://www.tech-faq.com/erp.shtml

[3] MIX Market

http://www.mixmarket.org/sites/default/files/medialibrary/20501.1030/GK_CPR_06.pdf

[4] MIX Market

http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/enda/data

[5] MIX Market

http://www.mixmarket.org/sites/default/files/Annual_Report-_2007-2008.pdf