During the first semester of 2006 the four working groups were set up among the different members’ organisations. They gather 29 persons from 19 member organisations. Download here the participant's list.

The first meetings of the 4 working groups were held in 2006.

Working Group 1 on “Social and financial exclusion map”

This first working group defined social and financial exclusion in their respective regions. It underlined the strong relationship between being at-risk-of-poverty and unemployment. Microfinance institutions which support self-employment and enhance job creation contribute to the reduction of poverty risk among its clientele. In addition, working group members designed a survey that is integrated into the annual sector surveys conducted by EMN and the MFC. The survey maped microfinance actors’ approach to social and financial exclusion by looking at their mission statements, client targeting, services and impact monitoring. MFI perceptions of social and financial exclusion and its characteristics in their service areas have also been examined. The contact person for this working group is Justyna Pytkowska (justyna@mfc.org.pl).

Working Group 2 on “Key constraints, challenges and policy recommendations”

WG2 started to work on the matrix scorecard designed for the study “Policy measures to promote the use of microcredit for social inclusion”. Based on six dimensions the countries studied were scored based on a set of indicators, of which the results are presented in a radar diagramme. The WG2 wanted to further fine-tune this matrix scorecard to enable it to be used as a clear tool among policy-makers of the Member States. This tool will be a lasting mechanism for mutual learning and exchange of experiences and best practices among policy-makers, which ultimately aims at influencing/triggering policy change in the countries involved. The contact person for this working group is Philippe Guichandut (p.guichandut@european-microfinance.org).

The Working Group 3 on “Benchmarks and performance measurement”

WG3 identified the different initiatives in the performance measurement field. The main issue was to define indicators that could be applicable in Europe, taking into account the variety of contexts and the characteristics of the current microlenders. Specific attention was paid to the measurement of social performance, in order to strengthen the added value of microfinance in social inclusion process. The contact person is Sarah McGeehan (s.mcgeehan@cdfa.org.uk).

The Working Group 4 on “Innovative approaches and products in combating financial exclusion”

WG4 focused on innovative approaches to existing products and services. It created a pool of potential products or services/approaches which habe been described and presented in the final report with recommendations for implementation either in the East or West of Europe. The contact person is Agata Szostek (agataszostek@btopenworld.com).

On June 6, 2006, for the first time the participants of the four working groups met in Budapest to share the advancement of their work. All together there were 22 participants representing 15 different organisations from 10 European countries. It was a real opportunity to exchange ideas and practices between MFC, cdfa and EMN members. After this meeting all the groups met separately to work on their respective agenda.

A new meeting was held in Sofia on 14-15 December, 2006 with 20 participants. This meeting allowed to prepare the final phase of the project and to finalise the content of each group's report as weel as the content of the global report.

In 2007, the working groups disseminated the results of their work during the annual conferences of EMN in Berlin in April, of the MFC in Sofia in May and  of the cdfa in Ashford in June. During these conferences, over 7 workshops offered the opportunity to discuss the results of the project and reached directly around 200 people.

The last activity of the project was the draft of the Synthesis note aimed at policy makers.