Notes from the Field: Asia Training Tour, PPI Data Analysis >

Mary Jo Kochendorfer and Cris Lomboy from Grameen Foundation’s Social Performance Management Center launched a two-week training tour for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Philippines and India. In Manila, the first stop, the team trained members of the Philippines Social Performance Management (SPM) Peer Learning Community (PLC) to analyze data gathered by the Progress out of Poverty Index™ (PPI™).

The SPM PLC itself represents an innovative approach to sharing information and experiences among microfinance practitioners. Launched last year, It is hosted by the Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. (MCPI) with support from Oikocredit and Grameen Foundation. There were 36 participants from 17 different organizations (both MFIs and investors) from across the Philippines. Each organization is using the PPI in different ways but expressed a strong interest to further understand how to calculate, analyze and interpret PPI results. The day-and-a-half training was packed with exercises and hands-on activities. Organizations worked with live data and presented to the group on their findings.

Participants were enthusiastic about the training and some cited particular areas of interest:

"Apart from enjoying the technical part of doing the "pivot table" and the practical way of data analysis, the training gave us opportunity to ask other MFIs which had implemented the PPI ahead of us what challenges they encountered and how they addressed implementation concerns. I am thankful to ASKI for the comments and suggestions they provided, particularly about the flowchart and responsibilities and accountability matrix. This lead us to revise and specify accountability of quality control to supervisors.

In the end, our attendance in the training went beyond learning PPI data analysis; it was an opportunity to learn from other MFIs as well."

- Vivien Grace Martin, Executive Director of KMFI the foundation of Enterprise Bank

"The PPI Data Analysis Training was very informative. The way the training was designed was excellent since the trainers tailor-fit it to the knowledge and skills needed by participants. The training also gave us an opportunity to share our experiences and to learn from the experiences of other practitioners. More trainings like this!"

- Mary Jane Macapagal from ASKI