The certification training was organized by the joint project of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) “Support to microfinance sector development” in assistance of the National Association of microfinance organizations and credit unions (NAMOCU). The training will last until 18 February 2011.

The given certification training is being conducted in Uzbekistan for the second time, and is aimed at extensive realization the 1st phase of ITCILO “MMW” certification program, i.e. broadening the national group of accredited microfinance trainers, which is initially formed through the 1st training in June, 2010, with other managerial staff from MFIs in Uzbekistan, for whom this training represents a good opportunity of learning and capacity-building. The certification program is organized within the framework of the Project’s initiative to contribute to the strengthened capacity of the microfinance sector and better performance of local microfinance institutions that provide savings, credit and other financial services to the population of Uzbekistan, as well as to assist their sustainable development.

Many of the certification programs in microfinance offered worldwide are either online or one-time modules concentrated on separate specific areas of microfinance, and in this case one needs to complete several such courses or training modules to embrace most of the microfinance related issues. In contrast MMW course is a complete and adapted to local context course, covering almost all areas of microfinance activities and specifically designed for the managers to equip them with skills for effective management of microfinance programs as well as techniques to mainstream gender aspects to microfinance. Another specific feature of the course that selection of training participants is based on one of the ITCILO-supported gender non discrimination criteria.

It is also necessary to note that, the actual training will be an opportunity for selected female trainers, who already completed the second phase out of three phases of a comprehensive certification process for trainers in November 2010, to complete the third phase of “MMW” certification program. According to the requirements of the third phase the selected trainers should hold their own training session and show in practice their skills, obtained from previous 2 phases, under observation of Ms. Cheryl Frankiewicz, who is the ITCILO internationally accredited Master trainer, the leading author of the course and visits the Uzbekistan for second time.

The trainers who receive a complete ILO certification become eligible and useful to conduct trainings on microfinance in the future in cooperation with such institutions as the NAMOCU, Association of credit unions of Uzbekistan, Women Empowerment and Advocacy organizations in Uzbekistan and other training centers, thus contributing the financial literacy of population and their awareness of the existing opportunities for a start up of a small and individual entrepreneurship.

The training seeks to broaden participants’ understanding of the functions that contribute to successful performance, and to supply an arsenal of tools that can assist managers to strengthen the performance of their unit, branch or institution. Moreover, over the course of the certification process the participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and strategies for meeting current challenges with each other. In addition, the trainers will pay a particular attention to exposing managers to international microfinance experience, developing case studies including gender aspects and inspiring more innovative thinking about what might be possible in the local environment.

Ms. Cheryl Frankiewicz has been working in microfinance for seventeen years, eleven of which have been spent living in Mozambique, Tanzania, Indonesia, Peru and Bolivia, where she helped to launch the Microenterprise Policy Institute in 1997. She is a Master Trainer for the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization and led the design of the Centre's Making Microfinance Work trainer certification process. She is the co-author of both volumes of the Making Microfinance Work curriculum: Managing for Improved Performance and Managing Product Diversification. She has authored and co-authored other microfinance publications, including MicroSave toolkits on product marketing and customer service. She holds master's degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and business administration from the University of Ottawa. At present, she is an independent consultant based in Maputo, Mozambique.

The first phase of the training is primarily targeted at delivering the major aspects of microfinance (24 learning modules) and supplied an arsenal of tools that can assist managers to strengthen the performance of their unit, branch or institution. Whereas, the second phase is focused on delivering the concept and methodology of the training course, and aimed at the improvement of the adult learning skills and interactive teaching abilities of the participants. However, during the second phase the trainer candidates had the chance to improve their presentation, listener motivation skills, as well as their ability to deal with challenging learning situations. The participants have also learned the gender mainstreaming techniques, and time and discussion management tools.