MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE TECHNICIAL COMMITTEE UNDER THE GSB PRO-POOR REVOLVING FUND HELD IN THE BOARDROOM OF PRESS TRUST IN KANG’OMBE HOUSE AT CITY CENTRE IN LILONGWE ON FRIDAY, 3O TH SEPTEMBER 2011, AT 09:20 AM
PRESENT
Ms Cinzia Tecce Chairperson Mr Fletcher Chilumpha Member Mr Noel G Lihiku Member Mr Gibson Ngalamila Member / Secretary
APOLOGY
Mr Stewart Kondowe Member
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr Guy Ridgen Microloan Foundation Mr Samson S Phiri Microloan Foundation
01/11 QUORUM
The Secretary confirmed that even though the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson were not present, a quorum had been reached and that the Meeting was duly constituted in line with the Terms of Reference. The Members then elected Ms Cinzia Tecce to Chair the Meeting. She then welcomed all Members present, especially the representatives from Microloan Foundation.
02/11 OPENING PRAYER
At the request of the Chairperson, Mr Ngalamila said the Opening Prayer.
03/11 REVIEW AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Members adopted the Agenda after adding the following two (2) agenda items:-
9. Date of Next Meeting; and
10. Closing Prayer.
Minutes of the 1 st Technical Committee Meeting Page 1 of 4
04/11 REVIEW OF THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The Terms of Reference (TORs) for the Committee were tabled at the Meeting.
1. Change of Acronyms
Members observed the following:-
(a) That the correct acronym for Malawi Microfinance Network was “ MAMN ” and not “ MMFN ”; and (b) That Malawi Investment Promotion Agency (MIPA) had been restructured and that it would be called Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC).
2. Duties of the Technical Committee
At the request of Microloan Foundation, Members agreed that item 7.2 of the TORs should refer to Guiding Principles for the Design and Management of the Fund contained on Page 17 of the Memorundum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Press Trust, UNDP and MLF.
3. Mandate of the Technical Committee
In order to enhace clarity of the mandate of the Technical Committee, Members agreed to include a preamble to the TORs in line with Clause 1.1.4 of the MOU.
4. Authority of the Committee
At the request of Microloan Foundation, Members agreed to amend Clause 10.1 of the TORs. However, Microloan Foundation was requested to draft a suitable amendment for review by the Technical Committee.
The Secretary was asked to circulate the revised copy of the TORs in line with the above resolutions.
05/11 CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENTS TO THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The Meeting noted that the following had been appointed to the Technical Committee in line with Clause 1.1 of the TORs.
Minutes of the 1 st Technical Committee Meeting Page 2 of 4
NO NAME ORGANISTION 1 Mr Noel G Lihiku Malawi Investment & Trade Centre (MITC) 2 Mr Stewart Kondowe Malawi Microfinance Network (MAMN) 3 Mr Fletcher Chilumpha United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) 4 Ms Cinzia Tecce United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 5 Mr Gibson Ngalamila Press Trust
06/11 PROGRESS REPORT OF THE FUND
Microloan Foundation (MLF) presented three (3) tables showing activities it had carried out and details of loan disbursement (see Annex 1). MLF explained that some potential beneficiaries of the loans in Lilongwe dropped out because of the following reasons:-
1. They wanted to be allowed to stock other products apart from what Unilever was providing; 2. Some groups in Salima indicated that they could obtain cheaper loans from other microfinance institutions; and 3. Unilever was in the process of changing its main distributor in Lilongwe which disrupted the supply chain.
Members noted the report by MLF and that loans worth about K1.6 million had so far been disbursed to seven (7) groups of women in Lilongwe and Zomba Districts under the Unilever Project. However, Members were concerned with the slow progress on loan disbursement and advised MLF to be innovative in finding ways of increasing the uptake of loans. Further, MLF was advised to improve the format of its reports by, among others, including information about the terms of the loans.
On its part, MLF pointed out that Unilever groups were being introduced by UNDP and that the pace of training and loan approvals for these groups depended upon those introductions. Members noted the explaination and urged MLF and UNDP to work closely together so that loan disbursements are not delayed unnecessarily.
Mr Noel Lihiku joined the meeting at this point
07/ 11 QUARTERLY WORK PLAN OF THE REVOLVING FUND
MLF highlighted some of the projects it was working on for possible inclusion in the Fund. It further explained that Mr Paolo Mele who was driving the activities of the Fund was leaving MLF and that the Chief Executive Officer would take over his responsibilities until a replacement was identified.
Members discussed the proposals at length and asked MLF to prepare a detailed work plan for the Fund to include the following project proposals:-
Minutes of the 1 st Technical Committee Meeting Page 3 of 4
1. Expansion of the Unilever Project; 2. Fruit Juice Proccessing Project in Mwanza – Report detailing progress and views of MLF on the project; 3. Solar Products Projects; and 4. Farming Support Loans.
MLF undertook to submit project proposals for consideration by the Committee including any suggested changes in revenue and cost participation between the Fund and MLF on projects introduced by MLF by Friday, 14 th October 2011. The project proposals would form the basis of the work plan to be presented at the next Technical Committee Meeting.
08/11 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
1. Mr Lihiku made an apology that he was late for the Meeting because he was attending a final meeting of MIPA which was restructured to MITC as indicated in Minute 04/11 1(b) above. 2. Mr Chilumpha indicated that UNCDF was already working with MLF on other projects but that there was no conflict of interest for him sitting on the Technical Committee.
09/11 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Members agreed that the next Meeting of the Technical Committee should be held on Tuesday, 25 th October 2011 starting at 10:00 am.
10/11 CLOSING PRAYER
At the request of the Chairperson, Mr Ngalamila said the Closing Prayer. The Chairperson then thanked all Members for their contributions and declared the meeting closed at 11:40 am.
______DATE SECRETARY
______DATE CHAIRPERSON
Minutes of the 1 st Technical Committee Meeting Page 4 of 4