The Reality Check: Not Just Software

FEBRUARY 2011 - The MIS reality check: more than just selecting software. Triple Jump Advisory Services helps an MFI in Nigeria face real challenges.

Triple Jump Advisory Services has been helping microfinance institutions in the selection and implementation process of an MIS since its beginning and although such projects are complex enough in medium-sized institutions with moderate growth, the challenge is even greater in environments such as that in Nigeria, where some NGO-MFIs are doubling client and branch numbers every year in areas with an unreliable power supply and Internet access. There is the additional challenge, too, of going from a completely manual system (with reporting done in Excel) to one that will require staff with computer skills.

In November 2011, Triple Jump Advisory Services began a partnership with one such MFI in Nigeria. Based in Lagos, Grooming Centre is a fast-growing and sustainable institution operating in 12 south-western Nigerian states and serving over 135,000 borrowers and 148 branches, with a gross loan portfolio of €11.8 million. The ASA-based hybrid group methodology has proven its effectiveness in enabling the institution to double its client numbers each year and in keeping repayment rates very high (PAR 30 of 0.1%). With its current number of clients and plans for growth, Grooming is looking into installing an automated MIS to improve efficiency and facilitate the ease, accuracy and speed of creating reports.

Given the complexity and costs associated with going from a manual MIS to an automated system, TJAS and the management of the Grooming Centre decided to divide the project into phases in order to give Grooming the time needed to make the best decision and find the necessary human and financial resources before advancing to the selection and implementation phase.

The purpose of this first phase of technical assistance to Grooming is to provide the services of an MIS/IT and microfinance expert to analyse the institution’s current and future needs and suggest possible solutions that would best meet these needs: What will be the implications for staffing? How much hardware will have to be purchased? Will the MIS have to be a hybrid with branch-level transactions still being done manually and entered in area offices? How can the MIS be reliable during power and Internet outages? What if Grooming transforms and starts taking voluntary deposits? Are there opportunities in the Nigerian context that facilitate introducing mobile banking services to expand Grooming’s outreach without having to invest in brick-and-mortar branches?

In addition, this first phase covers the usual initial steps when investigating the acquisition of a new MIS: business process mapping, creation of an MIS committee, specifying the business and technical requirements to include in the requests for proposal to be sent to MIS developers.

At the time of writing, the project is progressing well, although it is temporarily on hold because of the protests and strikes resulting from the removal of the fuel subsidy that has paralysed economic activity nationwide and brought traffic in Lagos to a standstill. Once activities resume, the results of this first phase will provide possible ways forward that address all of these questions and will provide Grooming’s management with the information it needs to make a decision about the next phase – selecting and installing an automated MIS – and a clear plan about how to proceed to this next phase.