SD Kanu Leading Change in Microfinance

World Hope International (WHI) places a high priority on staff training so that its team can engage innovative field techniques and competitively contribute to the broader discussion of relief and development. This commitment was demonstrated recently when SD Kanu, Executive Director of WHI’s microfinance institution in Sierra Leone (Hope Micro), was invited to Germany to attend a cutting-edge course in micro enterprise management. SD directs Hope Micro, which has over 18,000 clients, an on-time repayment rate in excess of 98% and a business model that generates enough income (from interest on its loans) to cover all of its operating costs.

The course, “Leading Change in Micro Finance Markets,” which convened at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, strove to equip the managers of micro finance institutions (MFIs) so that they can lead their institutions through changes that will enhance their productivity. The two-week class, which was attended by 23 people from 3 continents, focused on change management, profitability management, marketing, risk management and transparency. SD said of the conference, “I went to the Summer Academy looking for the keys to unlock the secret to 100% on time repayment on all loans. […] I found some answers, but not the simplistic ones I had imagined. Transformation is complex and challenging, but can be accomplished if we—the stakeholders’ assembly, Board of Directors, management and staff—can rise to the challenge as others have done.”