Microfinance seeks to extend the reach of banking and diversified financial services to the underserved poor and the poorest. The UN declaration of 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit and the honouring of microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank with the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has sharply raised institutional and individual interest in microfinance. This has created a huge demand for skilled professionals who understand the financial needs of the poor.

A sustained lack of suitably skilled human resources could severely limit microfinance's growth and undermine its potential as a tool against poverty. The course aims to reduce this risk by creating a pool of sensitised professionals. Admissions are open for the first batch of the course which will commence from February 2008. The course has the following two objectives: