MFTransparency and its strategic implementation partner, Red Financiera Rural (RFR) launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ecuador in April this year, with transparency workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil. The Ecuador Initiative is sponsored by the Ford Foundation to promote responsible and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry in Latin America.

MFTransparency y su socio estratégico, la Red Financiera Rural (RFR) lanzaron la Iniciativa de Transparencia de Precios en Ecuador con 3 talleres en Quito, Ambato y Guayaquil en abril del presente año, la cual está patrocinada por la Fundación Ford para promover precios responsables y transparentes en la industria de las microfinanzas en América Latina.

What really is the true price of a loan? The true price of a loan takes into consideration pricing techniques that influence the amount of money a client actually has and the amount of time the client has use of that money.

In a previous post, I described the technique that computer programs like Microsoft Excel use to calculate the XIRR (effective interest rate) as a very smart version of “guess and check.” The post on Newton’s Method described how the “guessing” part works, but it did not describe how the computer is able to finally verify when it has the correct EIR figure — the “check” part.

MFTransparency recently launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi. The Initiative has received strong support from the Malawian microfinance industry from the start, which has continued into the data collection phase. I want to share with you some of the trends we’ve observed so far regarding pricing practices, group lending and repayment schedules in the Malawian microfinance industry.

Microfinance Focus: MFTransparency will be hosting a conference on October 21, 2010 in La Paz, Bolivia to launch the pricing data it collected during the Transparent Pricing Initiative in the country as well as the progress of its other initiatives Latin America.

I recently came across an article in the online Harvard Business Review titled “The Most Powerful Green NGO You’ve Never Heard Of.” The title itself was enough to pique my interest but most exciting was to learn about the parallels that exist between MFTransparency’s business model and that of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

As microfinance vendors proliferate in local markets, every MFI wants to be the first choice of potential borrowers. A strong brand, with transparent pricing practices and healthy communication of those prices as part of its vital core, can provide an advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

MFTransparency and the Association of Micro Finance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR) will co-host a workshop in Kigali, Rwanda to launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Rwanda, the third country in the MasterCard Foundation-funded enabling APR & EIR Program.

On December 3, 2010 MFTransparency and the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU) will co-host a workshop in Kampala, Uganda to launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Uganda, the second country in the MasterCard Foundation-funded enabling APR & EIRProgram.