The Congolese-German Centre for Microfinance

is being currently ascribed increasingly more importance in the majority of African countries. However, there are very few professionals and university experts who are trained in this sector.

The need for professional skills in the domain of microfinance, in particular in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo and of Central Africa, was the reason for the joint initiative undertaken by the Protestant University of Congo (Université Protestante au Congo - UPC) and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany in order to devise a second-level university programme (degree) in microfinance.

This programme is being piloted by the Centre Congolais-Allemand de Microfinance (CCAM) at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economic Sciences at UPC. The aim is to give candidates in-depth training in microfinance in terms of knowledge, know-how and life skills.

The Congolese-German Centre for Microfinance is one of five Centers of Excellence in Africa sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Services (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienste – DAAD).

Its aim is to promote teaching and research to train future leaders in microfinance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and beyond.

Over the past five years, Frankfurt School collaborated with the Faculty of Economics and Administration at UPC by providing asisstance in the form of expertise, personnel and administrative capacity to:

• establish a Chair of Microfinance at the Faculty of Business/Economics
• establish a Research Network Microfinance
• design, implement and deliver courses in microfinance at the undergraduate level

The Vision

is based on four points:

• To be a centre of excellence for microfinance in Congo (Democratic Republic) and in Africa.
• To give Congo (Democratic Republic) and, to a certain extent, Central Africa, professionals able to make a significant contribution to enhancing performances and impact on microfinance institutions.
• To offer microfinance professionals in Congo (Democratic Republic) the possibility to undertake training and/or to retrain in order to better accomplish their mission.
• To contribute to training and/or provision of appropriate information to players in the field of microfinance in Congo (Democratic Republic), while taking account of the real needs, challenges and opportunities in this sector.

The Mission

is to contribute to development of microfinance through training managers and leaders capable of contributing genuine expertise to this sector.

The Strategy

to accomplish the mission, is to:

• Provide training to field practitioners, professionals and researchers in microfinance based on best practices in this sector and on observance of national and international standards.
• Create a network of national and international players in microfinance aimed at developing mutually beneficial synergies.
• Enhance research activities, i.e. to make a significant contribution through research to improvement of knowledge and competences in microfinance in Africa.

CCAM is managed by a staff composed of three persons: Prof. Patrick Bakengela (Programme Director), Prof. Frédéric Kalala (Holder of the Chair in Microfinance) and Project Manager Alexandre Nshue (Project Manager).

CCAM coordination supervision services are provided by Dr. Barbara Drexler and Elizabeth Holmes from Frankfurt School and DAAD.