Tag Archive for: documentation

Infrastructure: Mifos X vs. Apache Fineract

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As we’ve made the transition to moving development over to our Apache Fineract community, we have added some additional layers of complexity and confusion. We now have multiple mailing lists, multiple issue trackers, and multiple source code repositories. We’ve tried to address these in various webinars and developer meetings but wanted to make clear where you should go to ask questions, where you should go to report issues, and where you should go to grab the source code.

Mifos X versus Apache Fineract

A line of clarity we must first draw is Mifos X vs. Apache Fineract. Prior to the transition to becoming an Apache project, Mifos X was the software platform. From the moment we became an Apache project, Mifos X, the software platform became Apache Fineract. Mifos X now refers to the open source product distribution led by the Mifos Initiative that is built on top of Apache Fineract. Just as Musoni Services provides Musoni System or Conflux Technologies provide Finflux, Mifos X is another distribution on top of Apache Fineract.

The Mifos X distribution is an entire out-of-the-box solution that is a value-added distribution for financial inclusion.  which includes a web app (formerly referred to as community app), a mobile app for field officers, soon a mobile app for clients, reports powered by Pentaho and a data import tool. This distribution is released and available for download via SourceForge from the payments.mifos.org website. It is directed towards partners and user looking for a readily deployable solution including the Apache Fineract platform, a web user interface, and corresponding mobile apps.

The Apache Fineract is a general core banking system with just the back-end and APIs and no front-end. Developers and Innovators looking to build on Apache Fineract should go directly to GitHub and grab the source code for Apache Fineract (see below).

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Star Contributor of the Month – Laurie Wilmot

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FLaurie Wilmotor the month of June, we’re recognizing Laurie Wilmot as our Star Contributor. While initially entasked with simply working on documentation in our user manual she’s gone so much further. Laurie has helped with usability, providing feedback and suggestions on the design and flow of the user interface. She’s done quality assurance reporting numerous bugs, has made various functional enhancement suggestions, and helped to comprehensively think our full suite of documentation and support for using and implementing Mifos. 

Laurie is only just a newcomer to the community but she’s come on with such vigor and commitment that we rarely see from volunteers. We crossed paths with Laurie through the British Columbia Institute of Technology Technical Writing Program. Each student takes on an industry placement where they contribute 80 hours as a volunteer getting practical experience. We have been lucky enough to work with several students on our User Manual Project. Read more

SunGard Releases Data Migration Toolkit

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The Mifos Data migration toolkit developed by the SunGard Mifos team is now available as a Beta release. The Mifos data migration toolkit can be used to migrate legacy system data into Mifos for MFIs running a Windows environment.

This tool will help Mifos Specialists reduced the time to deploy Mifos. Through the convenient upload of an Excel spreadsheet via the data migration tool, they can more efficiently migrate historical loan and client data.  The tool will map the data according to your general ledger accounts and specified Mifos configuration.  Currently the Data Migration Toolkit has been tested for Mifos version 2.1 and covers the following functions:

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Documenting Technology Impact: Mifos ROI Model and Case Studies

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Report examining the technology return on investment (ROI) realized by deploying Mifos® including a hands-on ROI tool and three in-depth case studies documenting technology ROI at four MFIs.

Technology is critical in building strong organizations that can respond nimbly to changes. It is especially important in the microfinance industry, which has grown rapidly over the past decade to serve more than 190 million people globally.  This series, undertaken through a partnership between The MasterCard Foundation and Grameen Foundation, examines the cost benefits realized by deploying Mifos® at four microfinance institutions and is a step in advancing knowledge about deploying a management information system at microfinance institutions using diverse operating models.

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