Responsible Microfinance Facility

Application Form

Upgrade Project

Overview of an Upgrade Project

  • Background information: The AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD) funds the Responsible Microfinance Facility (RMF), which launched operations in January 2015 and is working to build capacity and improve practice in social performance management (SPM) in the Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East North Africa Regions. The Social Performance Task Force is managing the RMF, in collaboration with the Smart Campaign. One type of funding that the RMF offers is co-financing to financial service providers (FSPs) who would like to implement an "upgrade project." See below for a description of this activity.
  • Description of an "upgrade project": An upgrade project is a project designed and managed by a financial institutionin order toimprove its social performance practices. An upgrading project can also be a crucial step for addressing remaining gaps before passing a Smart Certification or to achieve a higher social rating. Before an institution is ready for an upgrade project, it must do an assessment, either an SPI4 or a client protection assessment, of its current state of practice. This helps to identify strengths and weaknesses. After the assessment, the institution analyzes the results and prioritizes areas for improvement. It then develops an action plan for implementing improvements. Once the action plan is created, the institution is ready to implement changes. The implementation of the action plan to address priority gap areas is the upgrade project. Because the actions taken during an upgrade process vary according to the need of the institution, the RMF cannot specify what activities will comprise your institution's upgrade project. They should,however,be activities that would result in improved performance on some or all of the poorly scored indicators of theSPI4 or client protection assessment.The following are examples of common actions taken during upgrade projects: developing and putting in place a client complaints system, providing additional social performance training to employees, surveying clients, developing new product delivery mechanisms, and investing in new infrastructure such as buying a new management information system.
  • Technical assistance for upgrade projects:All financial institutions implementing an upgrade project must include in their budget at minimum three days of time from an expert TA provider to offer coaching to the institution as it makes changes.
  • Please consult the database of TA providers maintained by SPTF (go to for information on TA providers that your institution might like to hire for your upgrade project. The database of TA providers contains contact informationand information on each TA provider's qualifications, including what SPM-related trainings s/he has attended, whether s/he is an accredited Smart assessor or Smart approved TA provider, and whether s/he is a qualified SPI auditor. The database also provides reference names and contact information so that you can check references. SPTF does not check references for you, nor does it endorse one provider over another. It is the responsibility of each FSP to contact possible candidates, and/or to contact their references, in order to choose which candidate is the right fit for your project.
  • You may also in some cases select providers that are not in the SPTF TA provider database. In these cases, you will have to submit the person's CV and a short description of why you would like to work with them, and the RMF will review this information and then approve or deny this selection.
  • Value added of working with a Smart-approved and/or SPI4-qualified TA provider. When selecting TA providers to work with, please keep in mind that those who are Smart approved and/or SPI4 qualified have participated in a carefully designed training and mentoring process that ensures strong knowledge of client protection (those who are Smart-approved) and the Universal Standards for SPM (those who are SPI4-qualified).
  • Duration of upgrade project: The timeframe will depend on each project and the action plan or gaps identified. Typically, an upgrade project takes between 6-18 months, but some may be shorter and some may take longer.
  • Sharing experience from your upgrade project: The RMF requires all financial institutions who receive co-financing for upgrade projects to share information on their experiences, results, and lessons learned, with the RMF. Peer learning is essential to advancing practice in the microfinance sector.These deliverables will be treated as confidential.
  • Eligibility: All financial institutions are welcome to apply.
  • Language: See the TA provider databases for the language abilities of the various TA providers. The reporting you do to the RMF on the results of your upgrade project must occur in English or French, however.
  • Cost: The cost of an upgrade project varies by project, according to the gaps identified and actions planned to address them. The RMF will co-finance no more than 50% of the total cost of your upgrade project, up to a maximum of US$18,000. Your institution will be responsible for the remaining 50% of the cost of the upgrade project. Your institution may contribute its share of the cost through providing funds and/or through in-kind contributions.
  • RMF procedure to disburse co-financing grant: The RMF will not disburse the co-financing grant to an institution on the date when its application is approved. Instead, it will wait until the institution begins paying for, or using in-kind contribution to implement, its 50% share of the cost. This is to avoid problems that might occur if the RMF contributes 50% but the financial institution is ultimately not able to contribute its 50% share of the cost. Additionally, RMF will pay third-party vendors directly. This means that a portion, or all, of the co-financing may be paid directly to a third party instead of deposited in the account of the institution. In cases where it is not possible for the RMF to pay third-party vendors directly, the institution may pay those vendors directly and then submit receipts to the RMF for reimbursement.
  • Project start and end dates: A question in the application form below asks you for your preferred start date of the project, and also to describe any time constraints you have. The RMF will review applications and do its best to make grants at a time that fits your schedule. You will also provide the expected end date of your project, according to the specific upgrade activities you will be implementing.
  • Deadline to submit application: None. RMF accepts applications on a rolling basis.

Questions for the Applicant

  1. Please provide the following information about you:
  2. First name:
  3. Last name:
  4. Email address:
  5. Skype name (optional):
  6. Phone number, with country code (optional):
  7. Country of residence:
  8. What is your preferred language to work in (please answer English, French, or both)?
  9. How many years have you worked in the microfinance sector?
  10. Briefly describe your responsibilities at your current job (1-2 sentences):
  11. Please provide the following information about the institution you work for:
  12. Name of your institution:
  13. Country(ies) where your institution works:
  14. Please list all networks or associations of which your institution is a member:
  15. Organizational information. Please submit information on your institution to the RMF in any one of the following formats:
  16. Did your institution report to MIX last year? If yes, please submit the data you reported to MIX.
  17. Did your institution fill out a BRS/ADA Factsheet last year? If yes, please submit the Factsheet.
  18. Has your institution filled out the SPI4? If yes, please submit the information from the Organizational Information page of the SPI4.
  19. Did your organization receive a social rating last year? If yes, please submit the report you received from the rating agency.
  20. Since last year, have any of your investors asked you to provide the information to them on your institution that answers the questions listed below? If yes, you may submit the information you sent to your investor.
  21. If you do not have any of the above available to submit to the RMF, please answer the questions listed below:
  22. What is the legal structure of your organization (e.g., NGO, NBFI, bank)?:
  23. In what year was your institution founded?:
  24. What is your institution's mission?
  25. How many open savings accounts does your institution have?:
  26. How many active borrowers does your institution have? [NB: "active borrower" = borrower with at least one outstanding loan]:
  27. Products and services. Please list all types of products and services that your institution offers:
  28. General financial information.Please submit, along with your completed application form, copies of your institution's income statements and balance sheets for the previousyear. If this will not be possible, please explain why:
  29. Prior SPM assessments. What assessment(s)of your institution’s client protection and/or SPM practices has your institution done? Please describe what type of assessment, in what year it happened, and who conducted the assessment:[1]
  30. Social data: Did you report data on social performance indicators to the MIX last year? If yes, please submit those data. If your institution also collects data on social indicators different from those monitored by MIX, please submit your data on these additional indicators from last year as well. Write "not applicable" below if your institution does not collect social data.
  31. Define the Upgrade Project. Please answer the following questions:
  32. Project description. Please describe the upgrade project that you would like to do:
  33. Project objectives.What are the expected results? How will this benefit your institution? How will it benefit your clients? What are the results/indicators from your assessment that you seek to improve?
  34. Institutional buy-in. Please describe the level of support and engagement of the leadership of your institution (e.g., board, senior management) in this project:
  35. Possible constraints. Please note any assumptions about the project (e.g., what needs to be in place to achieve deliverables) and what constraints that might get in the way of the project's success:
  36. Declaration of ability to co-finance. Explain specifically which funds or resources your institution will use to pay its share of the overall cost.Note that in-kind contributions are permissible.
  37. When would you like to begin the upgrade project? Please indicate your preferred month(s) and year:
  38. Are there any weeks or months in the upcoming twelve months when you would NOT be available to implement your proposed upgrade project? Please explain:
  39. Please note that is your responsibility to select and contact the technical assistance (TA) providers with whom you would like to work on this project. Several options are available to you:
    1) See theSPTF TA database websitefor possible candidates. The SPTF database provides information on TA providers' experience and skills, as well as contact information for references, but SPTF does not contact references, nor does SPTF comment on the relative strengths and weaknesses of one provider versus another. It is the responsibility of your institution to vet references, interview candidates, and select the person(s) best suited to your institution's needs.
    2) Contact CERISE at for a list of qualified SPI4 auditors.
    3) Refer to the Smart Campaign websitehereandherefor lists of accredited lead and support Smart assessors.
    4)You may choose someone who is in none of these databases, subject to the approval of the RMF.
  40. When is this TA provider (are these TA providers) available? Please ask them for times when they would potentially be free, and times when they know they are unavailable, and report their responses here. Note that this information is not binding, as RMF understands that availability may change:
  41. [Answer this question only if you are proposing to hire someone who is not in the SPTF, CERISE, or Smart Campaign databases. Otherwise, you may leave this question blank.] Please provide a short explanation for why your institution would like to work with this particular TA provider:
  42. All other external vendors. In addition to external TA providers, list any other external vendor your institution plans to purchase something from, or work with, to complete the project. Provide contact information for each vendor, along with a brief description of this vendor's organization and your rationale for working with thisparticular vendor. If you have worked with them before, please state when that was, and the context of your previous interaction with them.
  43. Action plan: Along with this application form, please submit the action plan connected with this upgrade project. At minimum, this action plan should include the list of activities you plan to do, estimated timelines for starting and finishing each step, and the person(s) responsible for implementing each activity.Any additional detail you wish to provide is welcome. If the assessment your institution conducted was a client protection assessment, please see Annex 1 for the specific type of assessment results, action planning, and other supporting documentation that you must submit.
  44. Budget. Please create and submit, along with this application form, an itemized budget for your upgrade project that includes an estimated level of effort (LOE) for everyone within your institution who will be working on the upgrade project. For costs to be incurred related to external parties, please provide documentation supporting your cost estimates. For example, for the TA providers you propose to use, please submit letters or emails from these providers that state the amount of days they will be involved, their daily rate, and their estimated expenses that you will pay for (e.g., lodging, travel, per diem). If you propose to purchase items from an external vendor, please submit a quote from the vendor stating the cost of the item(s) you will be purchasing.
  45. Monitoring implementation. Please answer the following questions:
  46. Internal monitoring. Describe how your institution will monitor the project and with what frequency (ex., status reports communicated to management during monthly meetings):
  47. RMF monitoring. To assist the RMF in monitoring your progress in implementing this upgrade project, please list some specific achievements that will occur in each phase of your project and describe what data will demonstrate that the project is being successfully implemented:
  48. Project outcome indicators. Describe the indicators that you will use to monitor whether the upgrade project is producing the desired effect, and any other results/outcomes of the project over time. This is not the same as the deliverables and the timeframe will probably be longer than the project itself. These indicators should measure outcomes, i.e., the changes that have come as a result of your project. These indicators will be different for every project, depending on the objectives. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) Annex II gives some examples of possible indicators. A single objective may have several indicators. You may answer this question here, or attach your responses in a separate Excel file:
  49. Learning from peers is a valuable tool to help the microfinance sector advance practice throughout the world. For this reason, the RMF will require all financial service providers who receive RMF grants to commit to giving feedback to the RMF on their experience implementing RMF-funded activities. The feedback mechanism will include both speaking to RMF staff about your experiences, either virtually or in person, as well as submitting written responses to a project evaluation form. Please write your initials at the end of the following statement, to confirm you understand this rule and agree to it.
  50. I agree to provide feedback to the RMF on my institution's experiences implementing an upgrade project co-financed by the RMF. I understand that I am required to provide feedback through two channels: a) conversations with RMF staff, and b) written responses to a project evaluation form.I understand that RMF will not share this information publicly without my consent. [Your initials]:
  51. Instructions for submitting the application:
  52. Please type (preferred) or write neatly answers to all questions in this application.
  53. Once you have completed the application, please email the following documents to and put "Application to RMF for Upgrade Project" as your subject line:
  54. your application form, filled out
  55. your CV
  56. your institution's income statements for the previousyear
  57. your institution's balance sheet statements for the previousyear
  58. organizational information described in question 3 (NB: this will either submitted as a separate document, as explained in question 3, or you may provide the requested information directly in this application form in response to question 3)
  59. social data you have collected from last year (see question 5)
  60. results of the assessment (see question4), and the corresponding action plan(see question 10), related to this upgrade project
  61. an estimated budget for your upgrade project
  62. CV of the TA provider you propose to hire
  63. letter or email from the TA provider you propose to hire, stating his/her fee, dates of availability, and interest in doing the project

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