In April 2010, MFTransparency launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ecuador with a series of workshops and meetings in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil. View the launch presentations here.

MicroCredit Enterprises: As the need for Microfinance Transparency (backed by many microfinance leaders) demonstrates, the microfinance industry has been less than honest with the donors and investors who back it, not to mention its impoverished client-borrowers. True APR loan interest rates charged by overseas microfinance institutions remain undisclosed in most parts of the world.

Daily Nation: The short rains which stated in earnest in December and the current long rain season has been a nightmare for many dairy farmers in the country.

New York Times: Drawn by the prospect of hefty profits from even the smallest of loans, a raft of banks and financial institutions now dominate the field, with some charging interest rates of 100 percent or more.

Microfinance Insights: MicroFinance Transparency Urges Indian MFIs to Share Pricing, Interest Rate Data. Microfinance Transparency is currently on a whistle-stop tour of India to speak with MFIs and industry stakeholders, as part of their worldwide Transparent Pricing Initiative, which urges MFIs to share their pricing and interest data to improve transparency and bring credibility to the sector. Microfinance Insights caught up with MFTransparency executives Chuck Waterfield and Alexandra Fiorillo, to speak with them about their experience in India so far.

Microfinance Focus: Identifying Transparent Pricing as the emerging challenge for the microfinance industry world over, MFTransparency.org, a US based non-profit has launched its Transparent Pricing Initiative in India with 5 seminars across the country, in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai during April 12-19, 2010.

MFTransparency launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in India with 5 seminars across the country in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai during April 12-19, 2010. View the launch presentations here. The launch resulted in data submitted by 90 MFIs on loans going to over 25 million clients.

Hola from Quito! I have recently moved to Ecuador, where I’m currently organizing the preparations for our South America projects. Peru was the first country where we kicked off our Transparent Pricing Initiative in early 2009. This year, we’ll bring the Initiative to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Argentina. Our 2010 South America projects are sponsored by the Ford Foundation, and in the case of Bolivia also by MicroNed.

In April 2010, MFTransparency presented at the Africa/Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit (AMERMS) in Nairobi, Kenya. MFTransparency presented “Transparency in Interest Rate Pricing and Other Efforts towards Consumer Protection”. View the presentation here.

Microfinance Insights: As the microfinance sector picks up pace in improving industry practices, MFTransparency, a US-based nonprofit is working with microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world to shed light on what has remained a dark and opaque corner of the microfinance business – the interest rates MFIs charge their clients.