1. State-of-the-art microfinance MIS

2. Table of Contents
Giving empowerment
through technology...
The foremost microfinance MIS 4
Tailored solutions for your organisation 5
...and making your microfinance Our values 6
organisation stronger... The Octopus network 7
In line with your main challenges 8
State-of-the-art MIS technology 10
Expert professional solutions 12
Users’ experience 14
Our offers 15
...more efficient... Microfinance Institutions
Microfinance Networks
Community Banks
SACCOS and Credit Unions
Non-Governmental Organisations
...For end-users
...and sustainable in the Islamic Microfinance
long-term for your clients
Octopus 3

3. The foremost microfinance MIS Tailored solutions
for your organisation
Octopus is one of the foremost providers of MIS technology for Octopus is a comprehensive MIS solution that supports all Sector Octopus Technology
microfinance institutions. Since 2006, Octopus has successfully aspects of your microfinance operations. With flexible and
assisted 80 institutions in establishing greater efficiency, intuitive technology, our clients benefit from improved loan, Octopus is highly ergonomic and an easy to use solution from Tier2 to Tier4 microfinance institutions. Thanks
transparency and timely reporting. Our international clients savings portfolio management, interactive client relationship to integrated, all-automated and secured workflow, you disburse and collect loans safely, with minimum time
Microfinance
range from greenfield institutions to established Tier2, Tier3, management, integrated accounting and proactive risk and effort. Your loan officers always have the right information at the right time, to enable them to focus on
Institutions their customers. Furthermore, you can develop by yourself innovative credit services to extend your scale,
and Tier4 microfinance organisations. management. Founded on best practices principles, Octopus
outreach, and commercial viability. You can benefit from the next-generation technology (PDA, M-Banking).
brings tangible value-added benefits to your microfinance
operations.
Octopus is natively multi-environment: multi-branch, multilingual, multi-currency, multi-channel. Octopus
ensures automatic data transfers to head office. You can operate with confidence several MFIs in different
Microfinance countries, and streamline global processes, while conforming to local regulation. You always have accurate
When our clients invest in Octopus, they benefit from the next-generation technology and therefore: Networks key reports and indicators to monitor your activity and make the right decisions. Moreover, you reduce the
overall investment cost of MIS for all MFIs, and don’t get stuck by high prices while business grows.
Octopus handles very simply integrated loans, savings products and funding lines to provide economic security
Bring down operating costs Break new ground and maximize the mobilization of local financial resources. With Octopus, you ensure to follow responsible
Community
business practices to support your customers, communities and local markets. With the integrated reporting,
Octopus is driven by the value it brings to your business. Octopus Octopus is a benchmark in the microfinance software industry: we Banks you have detailed knowledge of your environment and track both financial and non-financial indicators.
fits your operational processes and streamlines them to enable have understood at an early stage that flexibility - the ability to add
your employees to work in a more efficient way, save your time and new features continuously and quickly - is key in the dynamic of Octopus offers a range of features in an integrated approach that are particularly suited to Savings and
reduce costs. the microfinance sector. Our technology is constantly evolving and Credit Unions such as current account, group savings, loans, membership, payroll, shares management, and
improving, along with significantly enhanced functionality. AGILE planned deposits. Octopus helps cooperatives to provide quality and affordable services to members in
development has made Octopus the solution that evolves as fast as SACCOS and
Grow the business profitability accordance with International Credit Union (WOCCU) principles. Octopus helps you to reinforce accounting
the market. Credit Unions procedures and controls in the financial management of your organisation to conform to legal and regulatory
framework.
Octopus enables organisations to manage daily operations with a
long-term vision: using Octopus allows you to be client-centred and
Work with confidence
see signs of success very quickly. Octopus fits your growth and scales With Octopus, you can focus on your beneficiaries, develop programs which not only give access to credit
Our MIS is only part of the solution. We offer a wide range of Expert
easily, helping your institution in its expansion and diversification. Non-Governmental but also increase the client’s global situation and diminish their vulnerability. You can link microfinance into
Professional Services that ensures you to make the best use of sector-wide approaches to increase the contribution of microfinance to wider economic growth and poverty
our technology. From needs analysis to the implementation, and
Organisations reduction. Thanks to Octopus strong scoring and reporting tools, you measure precisely social performance
Reduce risks throughout the product life cycle, our expert team works with you to of the financial and non-financial services delivered.
ensure Octopus is delivered within budget, on time, and in line with
What is more sensitive than your data? Hardware failure, human your original business objectives. With Octopus, deliver value-added services conform to Islamic finance practices, like Murabaha and
error, theft, viruses... The risks to your data are always more Musharaka. Get more involved in a careful monitoring of your clients’ projects, in a partnership approach
numerous and probable. Octopus daily automated backups and Islamic more than just a simple lending operation. Widely used in the Islamic microfinance sector, Octopus is both
monthly updates guarantee you the highest level of security, and Sharia-compliant and flexible enough to guarantee efficiency to organisations that work only on Islamic
Microfinance financial principles. Octopus can also fit microfinance institutions that propose Islamic financial products in
prevent our MIS to become obsolete.
their global offer.
4 Octopus Octopus 5

4. Our values The Octopus network
Total commitment to microfinance Innovation A global and local approach Your local Value-Added Reseller network
Microfinance is an incredibly fast-growing sector with huge needs We constantly strive to identify the most critical needs of our clients, From 2006, our MIS has been growing thanks to a wide active To offer microfinance institutions the best quality of services, in a
in structuring: our mission is to make available as widely as possible and through continuous innovation we challenge ourselves to meet community of microfinance institutions and practitioners. In seven neighbourhood dynamic, Octopus has set up a unique certification
a robust and intuitive technology, committed to streamlining those needs. Through inventive processes and unique solutions, years, Octopus has been downloaded more than 25,000 times, and training process for Value-Added Resellers (VAR) and local
microfinance operations. Octopus stands out for taking best practices we provide unmatched value to our customers. Thereby, after tested by hundreds of microfinance organisations and is still used by business developers. Octopus can create opportunities of value-
from the microfinance community - in the field and expert world. the successful implementation of Octopus in your institution, our most of them. Octopus is multilingual, multi-currency, multi-branch, added services for IT consultants such as training, technical support,
We created Octopus in 2006 as a response to the lack of affordable technology will continue to be improved according to your ideas and supports multiple methodologies and multiple payment channels. and custom developments. With Octopus, you always have a
and reliable MIS in microfinance. Since then, microfinance is our sole needs, while guaranteeing the integrity of the functionalities already It can be integrated with local mobile phone operators and EFT qualified and responsive partner close to you. We certify and train
domain, in which we dedicate all our energy and expertise. developed and implemented for you. The ambition of Octopus is to switches. Its standard reporting editor allows easy development of annually our VARs on our new features to ensure you the highest
support you into continuous dynamic improvement. Innovation is up regulatory reports in each country. quality of services at the forefront of our technology.
to you, Octopus will channel it.
Full commitment to our clients Access for all Collaborative MIS served by one community A professional and passionate team
Octopus is the brainchild of the OXUS Group, an international We know how to leverage the best from technology to efficiently The main strength of Octopus remains its active community of Octopus is developed by a team made of both software and
microfinance network that noted the lack of MIS in touch with the improve the microfinance sector, and we want as many as institutions developers, testers, consultants, resellers, volunteers, partners, microfinance experts: a dedicated team of 10 full-time developers
realities of microfinance institutions. Today, Octopus benefits from to benefit from it, to maximise our social impact. Octopus is guided clients and members at the international level that contribute to its and 6 full-time business analysts and consultants run the project
a global network of users, clients, value-added resellers and local by a commitment to deliver the highest product quality, and much improvement. Octopus stands out for taking best practices from the and manage the 600-member strong worldwide online Octopus
teams, but remains motivated by the same initial intuition: it’s less costly than proprietary software, as we adhere to the values of microfinance sector - in the field and expert world - differing from community.
the client who makes the MIS. This mind-set brings us to a deep the open source movement. core-banking software that are not specialised in microfinance.
understanding of each client’s needs, and therefore we provide
tailor-made solutions. With users in more than 60 countries, we Through this unique approach, Octopus is the fastest growing
know better than anyone else that each microfinance institution has solution on the market, offering a process of continuous
its specific practices and its own market rules. improvement. Each month, we provide new functionalities by
request of users that benefit to the entire community, in particular
through our online services: website, forum, Wiki... Octopus aims to
transcend the power of relationships, collaboration and learning to
deliver exceptional solutions to clients wherever they do business.
6 Octopus Company Profile Octopus Company Profile 7

5. In line with your main challenges
Octopus recognises the challenges in the microfinance markets in which we operate, and the need to:
Better serve your customers Increase operational efficiency, maximise impact Mitigate risks Offer tailor-made services
You need a product adapted to your business process management, and You need to get real-time information, manage cost and time through simple You want robustness, long-term security, fraud monitoring. For that you need You need a global solution adapted to your needs. You need to work with an
which organises your whole activity around your customers. What is but extensive MIS. You are concerned about your daily consumptions, and to be able to consult the documents regarding your organisation’s operations easy-to-use technology, accompanied by a partner who knows your reality.
fundamental for you is to build long-term relationships with your customers would like to limit unnecessary expenses, in particular paper. MIS are strategic at any time. Managing risks means to be certain of the financial reliability
and therefore you need a MIS that delivers high performance impact and tools to help fast growing microfinance institutions become self-sufficient and of your operations. In addition, you need to be protected from any bug that Global but local
keep your customers satisfied. profitable. However, most of them have to cope with relatively high prices, could happen to the system used within your organisation, and also against
poor IT know-how and a complex adaptation to local context. failing computers or internet connections.
Octopus MIS is a global solution, used in more than 60 countries. Thanks
Strategic business benefits to its flexible architecture and modular approach, Octopus also takes
The most comprehensive technology Octopus is secure and streamlines processes local variations into consideration. Alongside our product, we are widely
Octopus Microfinance translates your needs into a very powerful set of recognized as one of the main microfinance services and business process
strategic business benefits which improve your ability to hit market windows. Octopus has scored the maximum in CGAP latest ranking in the category Nobody is immune to error or fraud, but there are effective ways to prevent engineering providers.
Octopus is customer-centric and will help you get the right people and ‘‘ease of use’’. Octopus offers an interface based on classical Windows visual these incidents. By providing automated daily backups, Octopus guarantees
processes in place, and therefore grow your business serenely. that makes it obvious to use. Octopus is compatible with the MS Office Suite, the integrity of your data. Monthly releases are fundamental in order to A unique implementation process
all the reports being exportable to Excel files. For the most demanding users, prevent your MIS to become obsolete. Guarantee and Software-as-a-Service
accounting module allows you to export your transactions directly to third- solutions offered by Octopus are also an excellent way for you to prevent any
Better structure your organisation We know better than anyone else that each client is unique, as Octopus is
part solutions (Sage, QuickBooks, 1C, OpenERP…). technical problem you could face.
a success directly originated from the field. Octopus adapts quickly to your
Octopus allows you to gain in efficiency, as you can better structure your business-model practices and evolutions. With our unique implementation
organisation and your work. How many times have you been confronted with Octopus is an open source technology A powerful access management module process, based on standards defined by CGAP, you keep control of the
inaccurate, illegible or complex reports? Based on the CGAP guidelines and installation of Octopus in your MFI at each stage. All the approach is organised
recommendations of many experts, Octopus provides clear reports, adapted You should consider this important point while making your final decision! Everyone quickly access to information they need at the right time, without to define the solution in close collaboration with your team.
to each audience: loan officers, CEOs, CFOs, Donors, Regulatory officers… We made this choice for practical reasons because open-source is much more error. Each transaction is tracked and can be undone if necessary. You
Use of open standards let you design your own reports. Octopus provides robust and transparent than any commercial licenced solution. Octopus is maintain control over the whole process thanks to the detailed monitoring
a highly customizable “customer relationship management” module that tested by an active community worldwide that helps us improve the software of all the transactions performed in the MIS. You limit the risks of fraud
automates most of the tasks to allow staff to focus on what really matters: by pointing out defects. Finally Octopus is the most tested microfinance MIS thanks to segregation of permissions and safe access through password. The
the customers. in the world. different levels of access can be fully limited for each role. You secure your
data through a simple and automated incremental backup management tool.
Octopus is hassle-free Saving money and time
Transparency
You just focus your MIS budget on competitive advantages rather than Costs will not hamper your growth any more and make you miss opportunities.
infrastructure. Octopus adapts to your growth, covering the full range You can deploy our technology in as many branches as you want without Octopus is also transparent which means that you can avoid the
of standard microfinance services, and thereby allows you to anticipate license fees. Actually, you still have the choice to pay solely for the service inconvenience of outsourcing your operations. Accrued transparency means
customers’ future needs, even for those forecasting a fast growth and you really need. Choosing Octopus allows you to manage money and time in also easier access to institutional donors. You benefit from a guarantee of
expecting to become bank institutions. With Octopus, you are not limited in a proper way through particular modules such as installation, configuration transparency thanks to a full data monitoring which enables you to regain
terms of clients, branches or data volume. You can easily add new branches, and data migration. With a flexible and intuitive framework, Octopus lets you control of your data. The data migration solution ensures a secured transition
agencies, create your own products & services without any limitation. You can simulate, test and launch onto the market new financial and non-financial from your previous system. Therefore Octopus transparency & reliability
make your products evolve quickly to adapt to your clients, your competitors products in a wink, allowing you to drive the market innovation. Octopus help you to gain an important competitive advantage thanks to improved
and the market trends. Finally, you automatically have immediate access to enables organisations through immediate benefits, in particular fast ROI and customer satisfaction.
Octopus’s latest innovations through the monthly releases. a very flexible response. It generates more than 50 detailed reports, including
CGAP-advised reports and it exports data to the solution of your choice.
8 Octopus Octopus Company Profile 9

6. State-of-the-art MIS technology
“Octopus is one of the most user-friendly solutions with Features covered by Octopus Savings account Accounting
highly ergonomic window display (intuitive use, universal Savings books, with flexible interest rate Cash / accrual accounting
search box, dashboard with essential data, alerts).” Clients & CRM Current account, with of overdrafts and agio 100% customisable Chart of Accounts
CGAP, MIS Review, 2009. Client management information : individual, Term deposits, fixed deposits 100% flexible accounting rules
groups, villages bank, corporate Recurring deposits Detailed flow records
Customer-centric system Compulsory savings Trial balance
Prospect and potential client registration Flexible entry, close and management fees Cash summary
Client data: + 100 fields Deposit, withdrawal, transfers with fees Manual entries
AGILE technology that addresses your core business Dormant customers Integration with Sage, 1C, QuickBooks, Tally
Automatic ID, identify duplicates
Photos, signatures, attachment files Fully-integration between credit and savings Multi-branches / entities accounting
Octopus is a process more than a product. You must consider your MIS as Flexible payment methods Audit accounting
a dynamic, evolving entity that will follow your business development. Historical data, client follow-up
Social indicators Back office management Financial statements
Octopus is developed in C#/.Net, a well-tested technology for banking
software development. The management of the developments fits IT best Customisable fields Pending operations Bank transfers
practices, including the AGILE methodology that guarantees an excellent Webcam and Biometric integration Susu collector, group savings
level of stability, reliability and fitness to your practices. AGILE allows the Geographical management Fully-integrated with accounting Core support
integration of new developments in the road map without destroying a Member and shares management Multi-entity
previous version and without waiting months to get a new release. It fosters Reports Multi-branch
frequent upgrading by a very simple process. Therefore, signs of success are More than 50 reports Multi-user
quickly visible.
Transactions
Cash CGAP standards reports Multilingual
Multi-teller management Customizable reports Multi-criteria search engine, filters
A scalable platform with global capacity Vault operation Multi-branch consolidated reports Taxes and VAT management
Octopus is a proven, integrated MIS addressing MFIs entire business. Our
A range of products to suit your needs Cheque book management Management reports
Key statistical summaries
Multi-currency
Image and document management
technology efficiently covers the full range of standards financial management Multi-currency
Exchange rate coverage (bureau de change) Operational reports (day, week, month, year) Multi-channel: Mobile Banking, ATM, PDA
services, allowing to anticipate MFIs future needs, even for those forecasting Octopus is a highly flexible technology and it can be
Multi-channel (credit cards, bank checks) Accounting standard statements End-of-day processing
a fast growth and expecting to become bank institutions. Octopus is multi- adapted to perform exactly what you desire. All our
user, multi-currency, multi-branch and can adapt to any network topology, Bulk payment (payroll) Financial reports Data import / export
Octopus products are built around the same MIS core
from totally centralised to totally decentralised. Front-office / Back-office mode Regulatory reports
module but each of them addresses specific needs of each
Ready to print Usability
microfinance sector:
Editable under Word, Excel, PDF export Instant view of alerts from the homepage
Complete functional coverage Loan Management
100% customisable types of installments Easily adaptable Alerts dashboard with colors
Octopus Community – The core of Octopus Technology Direct access to outstanding loans
The core of Octopus covers 85% of the functional coverage recommended Interest rate: flat, declining fixed principal,
accessible to the community to enhance the product and Security Universal keyboard shortcuts
by CGAP. Its modular approach allows external contributors to simply declining fixed installment
connect modules and delivery channels such as Electronic Funds Transfer
integrate their own modules. Freely downloadable on our Unique access per user (password) Fully-flexible search tool
website for test purpose, without guarantee. Flexible repayment schedules
(EFT) switches, Mobile Banking, SMS platform, Handheld devices, PDA, web- Different levels of access (roles management) Online help
Loan cycles
interfaces and ATM. Distinction between read / write permissions
Octopus Professional – For businesses looking for a Line of credit (revolving credit)
Funding line Unlimited number of groups and users Network
production-ready management software. Fully supported Audit trail on all transactions Integrated module of database management
by the Octopus expert team. For an annual fee included Handling of early, late, partial, extra payment
Deliquency management facilities Each operation is mapped with a unique ID Decentralised option: offline + consolidation
in the first installation, we handle all your needs: Printing of operations history Hybrid consolidation (hybrid SaaS)
implementation, software maintenance, technical support, Mortgages, guarantors and collaterals
Integrated workflow with credit committee Inherent security of the database Centralized option (Full SaaS on cloud)
staff capacity building. Notification of file violation Online daily consolidated reports
Automatic calculation of repayment schedule
Rescheduling of loans Self-auditing program Remote «hassle-free» upgrade
Octopus Online – An easy and affordable online solution Fraud management Quick and easy data backup and restore
for organisations to manage their portfolio and clients Automated back-office management
Collection sheet printed per loan officer Data quality management Automated daily backups with FTP
while reducing the upfront infrastructure investment. Fully Webservices for delivery channels integration
hosted on cloud by Octopus. Credit Scoring (integration with PPI, PAT...)
Fully-integrated with accounting module
10 Octopus Octopus 11

7. Expert professional solutions
We at Octopus are passionate about building and supplying the microfinance community’s best MIS. Our professional service team is committed A long-term and personalised relationship Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions
to deliver you hassle-free technology: we take care of everything so you can make the best use of the power of our technology and concentrate
on your customers. This translates into a range of expert professional services that translate your business strategy into measurable results and
With experience of more than 80 new implementations and users What is more sensitive than your data? Risks for your data are always
ensure that you can perfectly manage your operations from start to finish. We offer you a complete set of solutions to best fit your context and
for 7 years, we have acquired a unique knowledge of the best more numerous and probable such as hardware failure, human
objectives.
implementation procedures in the specific context of microfinance. error, fires, cyber crime, theft, viruses, etc.
Octopus is multi-tenant. It means that many customers can run their
We are committed to providing you with the highest standards of Professional Services before, during and after each project. Our Professional
The installation or the migration of your MIS is not a trivial applications on the same unit of software. This makes the overall
Services include the following:
undertaking. Preparation is the key success factor for your MIS MIS scalable at a far lower cost.
implementation. Every time we perform upstream training at
Octopus, we include an audit of the MFI. It allows us to review the
Implementation Operational MFI procedures, to understand its needs, to anticipate the migration Guarantee solutions
Custom phase, to personalize the MIS and to prepare a customised training
Due diligences strategy developments according to the institution’s reality. Besides this upstream training, The local technical assistance is delivered by your Octopus certified
analysis
we offer two downstream trainings at Octopus, in particular for MIS local reseller.
Developments administrators. This Octopus team inside your walls is the condition Octopus guarantee services give you access to:
to incorporate all your business innovations into your MIS. If you - Software maintenance (bug correction, forward compliance of
do not have such a team, your MIS will be more alienating than existing features, 2 annual on-site visits)
System empowering. - Technical support (support for version upgrades, answer to
Hardware Custom Software
Guarantee integration technical questions, hotline)
procurement reports maintenance
testing Customisation solutions - Hosting services (consolidated reporting tool and hosting of
database on remote server)
The microfinance sector is still unstructured, and practices and
regulations can vary widely from one country to another. For these
User Delivery reasons, we choose to dedicate each year 50% of our development
Data Technical
acceptance channels time on new features requested by users.
migration support
tests integration
The Professional Services we offer are founded on six
fundamental pillars:
End-user MIS manager Accounting Automated Hybrid SaaS
training training integration backups consolidation 1. Incorporating best microfinance practices, originated in our
collaboration with the OXUS Group and 80 other institutions.
2. Offering solutions that perfectly match your daily operations,
through detailed due diligences of your institution.
3. Supporting you through an ongoing commitment of our services
and IT teams, backed by a professional community serving
Mobile banking Modules Octopus Automatic
microfinance.
integration development Online upgrades 4. Helping you to increase revenues and lower IT and administrative
costs. You really see and measure signs of success immediately.
5. Ensuring improved resource utilisation and enhancing your
internal skills.
6. Enhancing final client satisfaction, protection and thereby client
retention.
12 Octopus Octopus 13

8. Users’ experience Our offers
Octopus is used by 80 microfinance organisations in 60 countries and supported by 3 Octopus centres:
Octopus Dakar Octopus Paris Octopus Bishkek
A range of products to suit your needs
Octopus is a highly flexible technology and it can be adapted to perform exactly what you desire. All our Octopus products are built around the
same MIS core module but each of them addresses specific needs of each microfinance sector.
A few success stories:
Dominican Republic United Kingdom Cameroon Tajikistan India
Nazufe is a Tier4 MFI and an Agora is an international IDEV is a Tier3 MFI that OXUS Tajikistan is a Tier2 MFI ODED is an Octopus Value-
active community member. network of MFI, with its migrated to Octopus in 2011 that originally implemented Added Reseller in India. In
Nazufe translated the MIS headquarters in London. and in doing so was able Octopus in 2006 to support two years, ODED successfully
solution to Spanish, opening The organization to serve 2,000 SMEs with its credit operations. Six implemented Octopus in
up a huge new market. When implemented Octopus in savings services in the Douala years later the organization 10 MFIs in South Asia (in
Nazufe implemented Octopus 2012 for consolidation area. is the second-leading MFI in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
in 2010, it was a small MFI. purposes. the country, serving 85% of Bangladesh).
It has now more than 3,000 Thanks to Octopus, IDEV can rural clients. Through group
active clients. Thanks to Octopus’ flexibility, provide advanced services lending OXUS Tajikistan At the same time, ODED
Agora can at the same time such as bank checks, current improves the lives of 15,000 developed custom features
Now Nazufe also plays the support its organisation in accounts with overdrafts, and customers and their families. with local developers in
role of Value-Added Reseller rural areas (Zambia), as well tax management. order to meet local needs
and prescriber of Octopus in as urban areas (India). Agora As of today, the OXUS Group such as Biometric fingerprint Find our detailed offers on www.octopusnetwork.org
Central and Latin America. has grown from a greenfield manages a loan portfolio of analysis system, SMS Banking
MFI to nearly 10,000 active over USD 20M in Tajikistan and handheld devices on
customers in 1 year’s use of and four other countries. smartphones, integrated into
Octopus. Octopus.
14 Octopus Octopus 15

9. Octopus Microfinance Octopus Microfinance
33, rue Godot de Mauroy Appt 20, 1/3 Suerkulova,
F-75009 Paris, France Bishkek , Kyrgyz Republic
+33 1 42 65 61 27 +996 312 51 19 76
info@octopusnetwork.org bishkek@octopusnetwork.org
www.octopusnetwork.org