Loan officer Maximos Biyazawo meets with members of the Chilambo ("The Country") Trust Group near Lilongwe, Malawi.
AIDS education in Rwanda, inventory management in the Philippines, domestic violence awareness in India–Opportunity transformative training and development modules cover the gamut of topics pertinent to clients across the globe. Today, Opportunity has more than 400 modules available for loan officers to use with Trust Groups.
In countries where there are low literacy rates and many people are unfamiliar with banking services, access to microfinance may not be enough to help them lift themselves out of poverty. Clients must also receive financial training to learn basic skills related to earning, spending, budgeting and borrowing money. Opportunity’s training and development modules teach people how to manage money wisely. They also give clients access to information on health, leadership, self-esteem, gender, communication, work-life balance, civic responsibility and more.
In Malawi, a method was needed to reach the 250,000 savings clients who are not currently receiving training. In response, Opportunity has developed a set of videos that are shown in banking halls while customers wait in lines to make their transactions. The first video focuses on savings, budgeting and debt management. Additional videos cover more information on budgeting, basic business skills, insurance products, etc. Opportunity hopes to roll out this video program to additional countries, including Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique, in the near future.
Increasing clients’ financial literacy through training modules and videos helps them to:
- Better understand the wide range of financial services available to them
- Increase their use of savings accounts and insurance products
- Better manage their credit
- Diversify their assets
