Driving Best Standards in Client Protection

Advans always endorsed the Client Protection Standards and has been using SPI Online assessment tools to assess its practices for the past ten years, but these latest certifications are a result of a concerted effort by the group to reinforce client protection practices across the network and bring all subsidiaries up to the same level. Starting in 2022 after the publication of the new Client Protection Standards, Advans, as a signatory of the joint statement, began to work on ensuring that there was a harmonized approach to client protection in its group model. The main steps in the strategy were:

• Identifying gaps in the Advans model and subsidiary practices compared to the new standards through:
  • Reviewing group model policies, trainings and processes;
  • Conducting self-assessment in three pilot markets – Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana (CP indicators in the SPI5 Full) and Tunisia (CP Full), with results shared with management and the Board of Directors; and
  • Using client feedback from the 60 Decibels 2024 Microfinance Index (conducted across the network in 2021-2022 and 2024) to identify weaknesses in our services from a client perspective.

• Integrating or strengthening the mention of client protection standards in all policies and processes at group and subsidiary level, including for example the Claims Policy, the Code of Ethics, the Data Protection Policy, and many more.

• Reinforcing training and awareness around Client Protection Standards generally, and on specific topics such as Transparency and the Claims Policy or reminders on the Code of Ethics.

• Defining an action plan for each subsidiary to ensure they conform to the maximum number of Client Protection standards.

Advice for Other MFIs in Africa Looking to Integrate Client Protection Standards

While the recent certifications show the success of Advans’ approach, it took time, commitment, and resources to achieve the certifications. Here are a few lessons learned:

• All teams need to be involved and engaged: client protection covers so many different areas of operations that buy-in at all levels of the institution is crucial, so change management is key. This includes Board level - sharing results and progress with the Board can also help to drive the project forward and ensure the action plan stays on track.

• Formalization is important, but it is not enough: policy improvements need to be backed up by constant awareness raising and training efforts to remind field teams especially on the importance of certain client protection principles and ensure that they are integrating it into their everyday work.

• It’s not just about inside the institution: you have to look at your whole ecosystem including partners and channels if you use, for example, third party agents to deliver services, they also need to be implementing client protection standards.

• Listen to client’s voices on a regular basis: feedback from client studies such as those Advans conducted with 60 Decibels can help institutions to identify unseen challenges in their policies and practices, client feedback should be collected often, so as to check that the intent to protect is translating into reality on the ground.

• Sharing experiences across different entities can be a motivator and driver: being able to share experiences between subsidiaries is one of the advantages of working as a group, having some institutions leading the way and sharing practical examples at various stages of the project can really inspire others.

• Look for support to facilitate the process: bringing practices up to standard and getting certified mobilizes resources on top of everyday operations, and it takes several months to prepare for a certification. Advans would not have been able to attain certification without the valued support of its partners, investors, and lenders, notably Proparco, who supported the certification at Advans Tunisie and the RIFF SSA facility from Cerise+SPTF which supported the certification and transparency projects at Advans Cote d’Ivoire.