Earlier this month we launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia and Tanzania with training workshops in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. In just the first few weeks of these projects we have already learned a lot about the pricing practices in these markets and the role that MFTransparency can play in providing institutions with technical skills for implementing more transparent pricing.

Social Performance Task Force: Microfinance industry stakeholders from around the world have assembled at the annual meeting of the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF). Their aim is to advance the global social performance agenda to the benefit of the microfinance client.

Microfinance Focus: MicroFinance Transparency (MFTransparency), an international non-governmental organization, on Monday launched its Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia.

During his inaugural address at MFTransparency’s Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia launch, the Governor of the Bank of Zambia stated that it is “imperative that all institutions provide the price of their loans in terms of the Annual Percentage Rate rather than a monthly percentage”.

In June 2011, MFTransparency was invited to dialogue with social investors about the the controversies in microfinance receiving such wide attention due to the India crisis. Download the presentation to SNS Asset Management’s investors meeting here.

In June 2011 MFTransparency presented at the SPTF Annual Meeting was held in the Netherlands. View the presentation here on the problem of defining responsible practice.

I just returned from a two-week field trip to Argentina to meet up with local financial institutions and provide technical assistance in the data collection process. During this trip I gained some new insights on the importance of contextualizing microloan prices.

Microfinance Focus: Ten microfinance institutions based in Ghana recently participated in MicroFinance Transparency’s Transparent Pricing Initiative by submitting their microloan product information and pricing data.

SF Public Press: Given the size of the industry, experts say that transparency of financial information about products offered by microfinance organizations is crucial to ensuring their social impact.

In June 2011 MFTransparency presented at the Dubai Microfinance Club’s Roundtable Discussion on microfinance in the Middle East. View the presentation on pricing transparency here