Software Implementations: What have we learned? By Normand Arsenault

Successful software implementation Technology is not the problem Quality needs assessment Building MIS around the needs

Step-by-step process MFIs need to adhere the following process Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Participatory Needs Assessment Cause for most IT project failure Knowing what you want Identifying the real issue Buy-in from the users Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Design of MIS Different Languages Discrepancies b/w Accounting and Loan Tracking systems Integrated Software IT support for “Integrated Software” – the misunderstanding Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Product Selection The security Issue Using open source software Learning to walk before running Trapped by technology Developing a custom based solution Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Implementation Strategy to implement the software Problems with running systems in parallel Training Support from the software provider Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Maintenance and Development Iteration of the whole process over Participatory Needs Assessment Design of MIS Product Selection Implemen- tation Maintenance and Development

Conclusion Information technology – Important for microfinance sector – But it need to be applied the right way User centered design Technology adapting the user rather than the other way – Otherwise it’s hard to get quality service

Discussion Using off-the-shelf systems The gap b/w the MF management and technologist? Narrowing the gap?

Discussion “integrated software will not make up for the absence of staff with proper accounting skills.”

Rural Microfinance Service Delivery: Gaps, Inefficiencies and Emerging Solutions Tapan S. Parikh

Rural Microfinance Microfinance is transitioning to a commercial and profitable business model – Must be efficient so that it will scale Three major obstacles – Exchange of information with remote clients – Data management at the industrial level – Collection and delivery of money to rural areas

Rural Microfinance - Info. exchange 12,000 staff for 3.2 million clients in 45,000 villages Thousands of transactions captured and processed every week in a timely manner Unpredictable growth Massive amount of data to update and maintain

Rural Microfinance - Info. exchange Several handheld-based solutions – All increased accuracy and saw increases in productivity and efficiency – Many discontinued pilot programs due to high software and hardware costs – Expensive and time-consuming process Should we be using handhelds? Is there another piece of technology that would be more appropriate?

Rural Microfinance - Data management Visited eight MFIs Six used VB and MS Access One used custom PHP/MySQL software One used only paper

Rural Microfinance - Data management VB/Access – Easy to implement – Easy to learn – Does not scale well No modularization of application Leads to redesign and reimplementation No industry standards – Need reports and information Investors, donors, creditors…

Rural Microfinance Money transportation Unsafe for loan officers to travel with large sums of money Cash increases potential for fraud Relying on regional banks CASHPOR working with ICIC bank – 5% service fee for loans Low-cost ATMs and POS devices

Discussion Questions How would we design standards and systems that are general enough? What types of systems will emerge? What other parts of microfinance can technology help out with? Comments?