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such as Chaitanya who soon became specialized resource NGOs with SHG training as their
major activity, and sources of funding increased to include the state women' s development
corporations, themselves funded by multilaterals such as IFAD and the WB.
As the MFI model grew, EDA Rural Systems entered the training arena in 1999 as the first
institution to fully recover its costs on a commercial basis, although many of the trainees
themselves were funded by donors or apex financial institutions. EDA now offers a full range of
skills training courses including (i) CGAP modules (such as Financial Analysis for MFIs) (ii)
adaptations to Indian conditions of CGAP modules (e.g. Business Planning for MFIs) and (iii)
courses designed by EDA itself (e.g. Internal Audit, Social Performance Management). EDA was
originally a franchisee of CGAP for the South Asian region, but CGAP courses are now open
access courses available to anyone on their website. EDA has the advantage of being a sister
institution of M-CRIL which is a rating institution. Thus many of its trainers have hands-on
experience of MFI financial and managerial performance. Moreover, as a consultancy EDA has
done a great deal of capacity building. It is now in the process of forging tie-ups with smaller
regional training providers around the country, initially in the Northeast with the assistance
of FWWB, but eventually in other parts of the country too. 2 Over the years EDA has grown in
respect of number of courses, trainees, and geographies covered. It has sent teams to 9
countries, mostly in Asia, and has had nearly 500 foreign trainees attending its courses in
Gurgaon, Haryana.
As the state
governments
have become
more actively
involved in the
SBLP several of
them have felt
the need to
promote
resource
institutions to
provide
support to the
programme
As the state governments have become more actively involved in the SBLP several of them
have felt the need to promote resource institutions to provide support to the programme. The
first and best known of these is APMAS, designed to provide TCB, evaluation, and other
research support. APMAS has developed particular expertise in the SHG Federation movement
which is an integral part of AP's state SBLP (IKP, formerly Velugu, funded by the World Bank).
It has developed a rating tool for federations in collaboration with EDA, and since federations
function partly as MFIs requiring the same set of skills as MFIs, it has branched also into skills
training, including the use of CGAP modules in Telegu. Other states have also encouraged the
setting up of resource institutions such as CMF in Rajasthan, and MLRC in MP. 3 In the four
states (AP, Orissa, WB and MP) in which the DFID-funded CASHE project has been functioning,
CARE has helped set up a number of capacity building institutions, designed primarily to
serve the SBL programme. 4
FWWB, apart from regular field visits to its ID (Institutional Development) partners, and
organizing customized training for them through EDA and more recently MicroSave, also
conducts training and workshops for its partners directly. In 2003 FWWB, along with SEWA
and the Coady International Institute, set up the Indian School of Microfinance for Women
(ISMW) with core funding from Citigroup International, in Ahmedabad. It is focusing at
present mainly on financial literacy training for the women leadership of CBFIs, with support
from SEWA Bank (which has a separate financial literacy department) but also offers skills
training courses. Courses range in duration from one week to a six-month's diploma course.
Like EDA, it is building links with regional training NGOs.
SIDBI, the largest apex for MFIs, has always devoted a share of its resources to TCB for its
partners, including sponsorship of their staff to training at management institutes such as
IIMA, IIMB, IRMA, XIMB, and IIFM. Some of these institutions are developing graduate education
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