The mission of the Microfinance Management Institute (MFMI) is to advance capacity in microfinance management worldwide. Leading experts in microfinance agree that insufficient management capacity and a relative dearth of technically skilled human resources are among the key constraints to the growth and outreach of the global microfinance sector.

Achieving significant outreach to low-income families who desire access to financial services requires a parallel scaling up of the number of skilled, ambitious managerial leaders who can capably manage the growth of microfinance services and institutions. The MFMI responds to this capacity-building need and fulfils this mission through its Microfinance in MBA Programs Project (the "MBA Project").

The MFMI was co-founded in July 2003 by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a secretariat of the World Bank, and the Open Society Institute (OSI), New York.