Entry Level Qualification 

Graduate

Career Fields 

Banking & Finance

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

CAT, MAT

About Career 

A Microfinance Officer is a specialist who works for the financial services that are targeted at individuals and small businesses who lack the same from main banking services. As a Microfinance Officer, you will be working to provide microcredit of small loans to economically weak or underprivileged clients, open savings account, provide microinsurance and various other financial services in rural and semi-urban areas. You will be working to provide banking services and assistance to socially marginalized customers and to help them become self-sufficient.

As a Microfinance Officer, you will be working on several profiles like some of you will be working as a relationship officer, maintain a relationship with existing customers, asking if they need further loans. Some of you will be customer assistants where you will be sharing all the information about different microfinance products and services for clients. Some of you will be working as branch officers and manage loan, accounts, micro-insurance, etc. As a Microfinance Officer, you might be working in the banking sector and heading the microfinance department or working in non-banking financial companies.

Key roles and responsibilities

As a microfinance manager, depending upon your profile and specialization, your duties and responsibilities will vary as follows:

1. You will conduct a survey of the desired area to compile all facts and figures.

2. You will create awareness of the project through mobilization and other correlating activities.

3. You will monitor your team and supervise them.

4. You will regularly conduct internal audits and review accounting books.

5. You will handle the overall coordination, management and implementation of the project (microfinance).

6. You will monitor the status of each microfinance request and monitor the communities with the request of microfinance.

7. You will support the development of microfinance services in your region and identify further growth scopes.

8. You will disburse loans to identifies people in a time efficient manner. Similar you will ensure that loan payments are also made timely.

9. You will need to gather pertinent financial information from both new and existing clients as it helps them to prepare accounts and loans.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies – UG in any stream – PG in Business Administration

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After Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, now you can complete under graduation in any field. After your under graduation, you can study for your post-graduation in Business Administration with preference in finance/ Microfinance/ Rural Management.
Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies – UG in Finance/ Commerce/ Economics/ Accounting/Business Administration/ similar subject – PG in Business Administration

After Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, now you complete your under graduation in Finance/ Commerce/ Economics/ Accounting/Business Administration/ similar subject. After your under graduation, you can study for your post-graduation in Business Administration with preference in Finance/ Microfinance/ Rural Management.
Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies – UG in any stream – Work in Banking/ Law/ similar field – Certificate in Microfinance.

After Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, now you complete your under graduation in any subject. After your under graduation, you can work in the field related to banking/ finance/ law/ etc. for some time. Now you may take a certificate course in Microfinance.
Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies – UG in any stream – Certificate/Diploma in Microfinance

After Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, now you complete your under graduation in any field. After your under graduation, you can take a certificate/ diploma in microfinance.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

To become a Microfinance Officer, you can do a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in any of the following fields or any related field:

1. Banking

2. Banking and Financial Services

3. Financial Services

4. Business Administration

5. Accountancy

6. Accounting and Finance

7. Commerce

8. Financial Accounting

9. Financial Management

10. Micro Finance

You may also opt to do graduation in any subject and then apply for a Microfinance Officer’s job. Many banks recruit people with various backgrounds.

UGC has recently recognised the CA/CS/ICWA Qualifications as equivalent to Postgraduate Degree.

Competencies Required

Interests

Enterprising: You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk taking and action orientation.

Conventional: You should have interests for Conventional Occupations. Conventional occupations involve repetitive and routine tasks as well as fixed processes or procedures for getting things done. These occupations involve working more with data, systems, and procedures and less with ideas or creativity.

Abilities

Abstract Reasoning: The ability to understand ideas which are not expressed in words or numbers; the ability to understand concepts which are not clearly expressed verbally or otherwise.

Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules and common logic to specific problems to produce answers that are logical and make sense. For example, understanding the reasons behind an event or a situation using general rules and common logic.

Inter-Personal: The ability to build and maintain good relationships with others at workplaces and elsewhere.

Numerical Reasoning: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and perform other basic numerical calculations correctly.

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Verbal Reasoning: The ability to think and reason with words; the ability to reason out ideas expressed in words.

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Knowledge

Accounting: Knowledge of various principles and methods for maintaining records of commercial and financial transactions and records, preparing various reports and statements, ensuring compliance with commercial and business laws and rules of a country, etc.

Business Management: Knowledge of managing a business which involves planning of what to do, organising resources and people, leading and supervising work activities of people, and monitoring performances of people as well as performance of business. This includes knowledge of marketing, finance, human resources management, operations management, etc.

Skills

Active Learning: Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

Critical Thinking: Skills in analysis of complex situations, using of logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

Negotiation: Skills in bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Persuasion: Skills in persuading others to change their minds or behaviour.

Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems and using the best option to solve the problems.

Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Service Orientation: Skills in or keen interest to help and assist people.

Personality

1. You are always or mostly organised in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behaviour.

3. You are always or mostly disciplined in your action and behaviour.

4. You are always calm or generally remain calm in most situations.

5. You always feel secure in your surroundings and in most situations.

6. You can always act independently or could do so in most situations.

7. You trust others sometimes but not always.

8. You act independently sometimes but do not do so in some other times.

9. You are always practical or in most situations.

10. You always or mostly prefer to stick within a routine or carry out routine and repetitive activities.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

1. Some of you will start your career as a Branch Relationship Officer or Relationship Manager with Microfinance Institutions.

2. If you are into operations, then you may start your career as Operations Executive.

3. Some of you will start your career as a Customer Representative Executive.

4. If you came from a good B-School, you may even start your career as a Branch Manager.

5. Some of you will start your career as a Credit Officer.

Most of you will be working for:

1. Microfinance companies like Sonata India, Fusion Microfinance, Svatantra, Village Financial Services Ltd, etc.

2. Banking & Financial Institutions like SBI, Bandhan Bank, etc.

3. Consulting firms like Ernst & Young, PWC, etc.

4. Agri-Business and CSR Companies like Pidilite, Emami, ITC, etc.

Work Environment

As a Microfinance Officer, you will be working in semi-urban and rural region of India mostly. You might be travelling to houses of marginalised people and teach them about microfinance. Most of the microfinance organization ask if you have a bike or not as most of them would expect you to travel extensively in your region. Thus, it is not a desk job. Certain times, travelling in interiors would mean you would get late getting back. Despite rain, hot or cold climate, you will discharge your duties. Another tough task could be explained about microfinance to people. Most of them may come with little education. Thus, it is a challenging role that requires dedication and patience from your side.

Career Growth

1. If you start your career as Branch Relationship Officer or Relationship Manager then with time you will be promoted as Team Leader and then Cluster Head, Regional Head and then VP.

2. In operations, if you start your career as Operations Executive, then you will be promoted to operations manager, then area operations manager and then VP operations.

3. If you will start your career as Customer Representative Executive, then you will be promoted to Relationship manager, branch manager, etc.

4. If you start your career as Branch Manager, then you will be promoted to area manager, then product head, then the business head, etc.

Salary Offered  

1. At the entry level, you can start with a salary of Rs. 10,000 to 20,000 per month if you are a customer representative. A relationship manager can start with Rs.15,000 to 25,000 per month. As an operation executive, you can earn anything around Rs. 15,000 to 30,000. As a branch manager, you will be earning around Rs. 25,000 to 60,000 per month.

2. At the junior level after 2-6 years of experience, you will be earning anywhere between Rs. 20,000 to 50,000 or more per month.

3. At the middle level of 6-12 years of work experience, your earning will rise to Rs40,000-1,50,000 or much more per month depending on your profile.

4. At the senior level after 12 years of work experience, your earning will be between Rs. 80,000 to 3,00,000 or even more per month.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

Addressing grievances and resolving conflicts: Handling complaints and grievance to resolve; resolving conflicts among co-workers or others at workplace or outside in relation to your work.

Analysing and interpreting data and information: Analysis of data and information to find facts, trends, reasons behind situations, etc.; interpretation of data to aid in decision making.

Communicating with co-workers and others: Communicating with people in writing, verbally or otherwise inside your workplace and various other people who have professional relationships with your place of work including vendors, government officials, etc. or with people at large.

Decision making and problem solving: Analysis of data and information; evaluation of alternative decisions and results of decisions; taking the right decisions and solving problems.

Developing and maintaining inter-personal relationships: Developing professional relationships with co-workers and others outside organisations and maintaining good relationships.

Getting Information and learning: Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

Inspecting situations, events, and people: Inspecting situations, events and people to understand the reasons and causes for the situation or events to happen; inspecting people to understand reasons behind their behaviour and actions.

Managing and supervising: Manging and supervising work of others; setting goals; giving instructions; monitoring work performance, etc.

Negotiating: Negotiating terms, conditions, costs, prices and about other issues.

Organising, planning and prioritising tasks: Planning and organising tasks in order to achieve work goals; prioritising tasks to achieve goals and making the best use of the time available.

Providing advices and consultation to others: Giving advices or consultation to others about various issues, conceptual matters, know-hows, scientific matters, products or services.

Scheduling tasks: Scheduling project timelines, tasks and activities.

Updating and using relevant knowledge: Keeping updated with the latest knowledge relevant to your fields of work and use of the relevant knowledge in getting things done.

Using computers for work: Using computers for day-to-day office work; using computer software for various applications in day-to-day professional work; entering data and process information; for writing.

Working in a team: Working in a team of people; developing team; maintaining professional relationships among team members.