Designing pilot micro finance information dissemination centres for the eastern cape: A process report

The paper provides an exposition of the methodologies and techniques the Walter Sisulu Enterprise Development Centre project team employed to address the process challenges rolling out an EU funded project in the context of university institutional processes and meeting funder requirements. The overall objective of the project is to improve the sustainability and reach of financial services through the provision of financial product information and financial skills to consumers and small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME´s). The paper contains a description of the process of continually ensuring that performance is demonstrated against each of the activities and milestones that were designed to ensure that the project scope is covered in the roll out the project. Interim findings against a selection of milestones and implementation challenges are shared and reference is made to the establishment of the pilot financial information dissemination centres as a means to achieve the stated objective. The section on the Business Benefits briefly addresses the model that needs to be developed to ensure Information Centres can be sustained upon completion of the project.