Financial Institutions Development

The sustainable development of local financial institutions (FIs) plays a crucial role in promoting responsible financial inclusion of households and entrepreneurs. Introducing international best practice to strengthen the capacity of FIs and improving service levels, and ensuring national and multi-national donor funds are deployed in a responsible manner and allocated to creditworthy clients, leads again to increased external investment in the region. In the long run, this will facilitate increased access to finance for entrepreneurs, thereby encouraging economic growth and creating employment.

Accordingly, GOPA AFC designs and delivers online and on-site capacity building workshops and training programs and at the same time advises and supports central and commercial banks, microfinance associations, bank training departments, and apex institutions. Our targeted consulting interventions improve the knowledge and skills of bank staff which are necessary to acquire, serve, and retain customers. We also develop internal trainers to ensure a sustainable impact.

In response to the specific needs of FI partners, we provide the following: review and development of credit policies and procedures; loan monitoring and delinquency management tools; environmental & social risk assessment; problem loan management and work-out; development of customized sales and product knowledge tools; IT systems security review; business development; and customer relationship management.

Through an EIB funded project, GOPA AFC developed and implemented a gender strategy that guides the Uganda Development Bank on how to efficiently reach female clients and thus contribute to women’s economic empowerment. In Kenya, GOPA AFC assisted a commercial bank with problem loan management. Fact-finding and diagnostic activities were initiated and afterwards, the resulting recommendations were implemented and a performance review on behavioural change was conducted. Our support led to the establishment of a debt recovery unit and ultimately, non-performing loans were significantly reduced.

GOPA AFC has implemented further projects on FI development in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Ukraine, and Vietnam.