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Slide 1: Jafar Jabbarli 44, Caspian Plaza III, 9th Floor Tel: 437 16 45; 437 23 39 E-mail: amfa@amfa.az Fax: 437 23 39 PRESS RELEASE AMFA SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED “I learned a lot from this program. Credit work is very interesting for me because you learn about your client; about their business, character, their income and losses.” - Intern Loan Officer Participant In May 2007 the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) began its first Internship Program for Loan Officers. The program targeted students who recently finished their Bachelor or Master level of studies in Finance and Credit, or Economics; and possessed limited or no previous work experience. The Internship was a great opportunity for The Internship consisted of several steps: those students who wanted to learn more about the roles, responsibilities, and job functions of a loan officer; to practice those 1. Program design and development skills first-hand; and to position themselves for an opportunity to 2. Advertising, marketing, and promotion • Presentation at the Azerbaijan secure employment within a highly qualified micro-finance institute Economic State University Job Fair or bank in the future. • Promotion at Western University, Khazar University and Akhundov Library Five AMFA Members provided a letter of commitment expressing 3. Application review, nominees selection and their interest to give such an opportunity for the Azerbaijan youth; recruitment • 79 applications received; 16 candidates these participants included SOA Credit, Finance for Development, were interviewed; 6 Intern position Norwegian MicroCredit, World Vision AzerCredit, and Royal Bank of openings Baku; all of which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 4. One week theoretical training that outlined their agreement to place Interns within their institutions 5. Loan Officer Skills examination for the four-week period of practical training on the multi-faceted 6. Certificates of completion of theoretical training functions of loan officer. 7. Four weeks practical training 8. Theoretical training took place from July 30 - August 3 2007, and 9. covered micro-finance topics such as interest rates, financial analysis, loan products, agricultural loan products, delinquency management, internal control, loan officer efficiency, documentation, credit policy, working with clients, business evaluation, credit management and loan monitoring. On the last day of theoretical training, all participants completed an examination to evaluate their knowledge obtained during the week; and those who successfully passed the exam were awarded with Certificates of Completion and an Appendix that included marks from the final exam. “We are interested to collaborate with AMFA in future Internship programs because we plan to expand our activity and staff. It is helpful to get higher quality employees through this program.” Certificates for completion of practical training Roundtable discussions / Final Program - AMFA Member Participant Practical training took place from August 6 - August 31 2007, and provided an excellent opportunity for the selected Interns to directly apply their skills within the context of real working conditions in accordance to the functions of a loan officer. Interns gained comprehensive knowledge about the demands of the position, prepared loan applications, assessed and evaluated potential borrowers, and met with clients in
Slide 2: the field. Upon conclusion of the one month training period, 3 of the 6 Interns placed within the five Institutions were offered full-time employment. Two intensive focus groups were held on September 7 and September 10 with the institutions that participated in the program and the interns themselves. The program aimed to address one of the largest constraints to the development of the micro-finance and banking sectors – the lack of qualified personnel, and these focus groups led to a better understanding of the needs for all participants involved. The result of the focus groups will enhance curriculum for the next running of the internship program scheduled for early 2008; further announcements regarding the next recruitment and application deadline will be made in November 2007. Interns’ engage in a discussion during Theoretical training at the BP Enterprise Training Center. AMFA would like to extend its sincere appreciation to USAID SME Support through Financial Sector Development Project - implemented by ACDI/VOCA; BP and its co-ventures in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, Shahdeniz, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and South Caucuses Pipeline projects; and UNDP Azerbaijan. This program could not have been implemented without their financial support and technical assistance. For questions or additional information on the AMFA Internship Program, please contact: Leyla Yuzbasheva or Jerrold Smelcer Training Coordinator MBAEC Consultant AMFA ACDI/VOCA Email: leylay@amfa.az Email: jsmelcer@acdivoca.org.az The Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) was established in December 2001 and officially registered in 2004 as the liaison for MFIs in Azerbaijan. There are currently 22 member institutions, which include six banks and fifteen non-bank microfinance institutions. AMFA provides information dissemination services, performance monitoring and policy advocacy as well as training and educational opportunities for members and government. AMFA assists its members in attracting loan capital through establishment of sound relationships with investors and donors, provision of country market overview and customized reports. www.amfa.az