Offer Financial Services Proactively

Michael Schlein is President & CEO of Accion, a global non-profit that helps provide financial services for those living in poverty. He has been pushing for building economic opportunity through microfinance, impact investing and social entrepreneurship.

Manoj Agrawal: Given the challenges in financial inclusion during the pandemic, what has been your observation about leadership traits that help microfinance leaders navigate through crises, and what kinds of weaknesses have you seen that need to be overcome?

Michael Schlein: During the pandemic, digital transformation for microfinance providers rapidly went from something that was 'nice to have' to being essential for survival. That's why adaptability and flexibility are such important traits for leaders in microfinance. Leaders need to pivot their organizations and develop digital capabilities to continue meeting their clients' urgent needs - while including clients in the journey to ensure they can use and apply digital tools to their everyday lives.

What risk management practices do you advise microfinance leaders to deeply focus on?