Founded in 2002, Microloan Foundation (MLF) are a UK-based microfinance charity operating in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. MLF are dedicated to helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in Africa work their own way out of poverty. So far they have supported over 150,000 women with access to financial services, resulting in around 600,000 children being given the chance of an education and the opportunity of a better future. MLF have been using Musoni since mid 2015.

MLF have a 100% focus on rural areas and female clients. Dedicated to social impact, MLF also take advantage of the Grameen Progress out of Poverty (PPI) Surveys being included as standard in Musoni (PPI are the leading social performance measurement tool in the industry). Musoni now includes PPI Surveys for Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria and the Philippines, making it incredibly easy for organisations to measure the poverty levels of their clients. Using the PPI Surveys, MLF have been able to focus on supporting exceptionally poor women: 100% of their members earn below $2.50 each day and 50% earn below $1.25.

[testimonial_slider autorotate=””] [testimonial name=”Peter Ryan, MLF Group CEO” quote=”I am delighted that Microloan Foundation took the decision to install Musoni. MLF are very confident in both the relationship and the future benefits the system will bring.” id=”t1″] [/testimonial_slider]

Originally MLF ran their operations on a custom built, in-house system. As their client numbers increased and the organisation expanded into multiple countries this became increasingly difficult for them to maintain. As a result, in July 2015 MLF switched to the Musoni System. Since then the results have been impressive. MLF have seen significant growth in client numbers, loan portfolio and total savings balances in just 18 months. Alongside this they have used the Musoni System to half their PAR to below 3%.

Of course, choosing a new microfinance system is never easy. Peter Ryan, MLFs founder and CEO described the experience by saying, “technically, we wanted a system that fulfilled all the requirements and a partner that was understanding of our needs. We understood that choosing a software provider was the start of a long-term commitment and so we wanted someone who would support us through the ups and downs of the relationship. Musoni has absolutely delivered on this.”

So what’s next? MLF recently purchased tablets for all of their field officers, enabling them to use the Musoni App to register clients, create loans and carry out PPI surveys when in the field. MLF hope to see this result in cost reductions and efficiency gains over the next 12 months. In April 2017 MLF will also begin piloting repayments over MTN mobile money in Zambia, with the integration being carried out by the Musoni team. The team have also recently opened a third organisation in Zimbabwe, and are working closely with Musoni to ensure the advantages of the system from day one.

Cameron Goldie-Scot, Musoni’s CEO, said: “We’re excited to be working with Microloan Foundation, especially as they start taking advantage of the more advanced system functionality and expand into Zimbabwe. Musoni is a social impact company and with MLF we share the common goal of improving the quality and availability of financial services in Africa. We look forward therefore to supporting their expansion for many years to come.”

Peter Ryan concluded by saying that he “was delighted that Microloan Foundation took the decision to install Musoni. MLF are very confident in both the relationship and the future benefits the system will bring.”