Following the success of initial cooperation between IPC and Wujiang Rural Commercial Bank in implementing cash-flow-based MSE lending, IPC was contracted to further strengthen MSE management capacity and expand MSE lending activities to additional outlets and geographic areas. As lending expansion naturally creates complexity, IPC aimed to refine and maintain a standardised approach throughout all MSE lending outlets of the bank, with the goal of enabling rapid development and expansion of MSE lending while maintaining control and ensuring operational and portfolio quality. As in our first cooperation, this project aimed to enable the bank to sustainably manage MSE lending operations after the consultancy assignment.

• Developing MSE lending organisational structures to manage challenges of scale like an expanding MSE portfolio, growing MSE staff numbers, and increasing number of MSE lending outlets over longer distances
• Drafting a business and staffing plan for the expansion of MSE lending
• Strengthening management capacities in the MSE lending department with regard to regional management, training, internal control, marketing and collection: defining job descriptions; selecting and training HO specialists or managers; coaching management staff, including regional managers focused on long-distance outlets; developing procedures and policies for each function; developing tools to improve overall MSE portfolio management; and training in arrears-fighting techniques

• Developing additional MSE lending products tailored to the local market environment
• Revising and expanding the bank’s current MSE marketing efforts and strategies
• Establishing a training management framework to ensure consistent high-quality training and skills development for existing and new MSE lending staff
• developing the pool of trainers and mentors for classroom and on-the-job staff training
• Generating additional MSE lending training concepts and training material
• Participating in MSE department staff recruitment, training, testing, evaluation and feedback sessions
• Developing further internal control capacities at the bank through the training of new specialists
• Managing the implementation and expansion of on-site internal control inspections on risk identification and assessment, reporting, and follow-up risk-reduction correction mechanisms
• Continuing participation in credit committees for quality assurance, including executing a veto right during decision-taking