Transparent Pricing Initiative in Kenya
Thank you for your participation in this global movement to practice transparent pricing in microfinance.
MicroFinance Transparency works with MFIs, Central Banks, and investors to bring about pricing transparency in the microfinance industry. MicroFinance Transparency will enable transparent communication between suppliers and consumers of microcredit products. We are the venue for the microfinance industry to publicly demonstrate its commitment to pricing transparency, integrity and poverty alleviation. Our vision is a microfinance industry operating with healthy free market conditions where consumers and other stakeholders can make informed decisions.
Kenya is the first African country to be selected for MicroFinance Transparency’s Transparent Pricing Initiative. Alexandra Fiorillo conducted a workshop in Nairobi on October 19th, 2009 where she shared the new industry standard for calculating interest rates for microcredit products with the leading microfinance institutions and banks in Kenya.
Now is your opportunity to actively participate in the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Kenya. During the Kenya project, MFTransparency will be collecting information on all micro loan products offered by MFIs and banks. If your financial institution offers micro loan products, you can participate by submitting specific information on those products. Please follow the instructions below to complete the process.
To submit your loan product data to MicroFinance Transparency, please download and complete the following excel workbook:
Deadline to submit data: February 19, 2010
When you have completed the Data Collection Tool, please email it to: data@mftransparency.org
Should you have any questions about MFTransparency, the data submission process, or anything else, please email data@mftransparency.org and our team will get back to you within 48 hours to answer your inquiries.
Materials to Download
· Understanding Interest Rates (APR/EIR) Tool
· Why We Need Transparent Pricing in Microfinance (Presentations – Sessions 1 & 2)
· Article: The Need for Transparent Pricing
· Two-Page Overview of MFTransparency
MFTransparency would like to thank the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI) for their support in this initiative. To download the latest AMFI newsletter click here.
To submit your loan product data to MicroFinance Transparency, please download and complete the following excel workbook:
Deadline to submit data: February 19, 2010
When you have completed the Data Collection Tool, please email it to: data@mftransparency.org
Should you have any questions about MFTransparency, the data submission process, or anything else, please email data@mftransparency.org and our team will get back to you within 48 hours to answer your inquiries.
News & Updates
April 21, 2010
Daily Nation: Lender to women joins global policing group
February 22, 2010
MicroCapital Brief: Professor Njuguna Ndungu, Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Announces that CBK Will Review Microfinance Act, Comments on Industry
December 20, 2009
Mobile Money Africa: Oikocredit to offer microfinance pricing transparency data in Africa
December 8, 2009
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya’s ‘Pamoja Women Development Programme’ (PAWDEP), ‘Project Partner’ of Oikocredit, Becomes First African Microfinance Institution (MFI) to Submit Data to MFTransparency
December 4, 2009
Microfinance Focus: Oikocredit partner first to offer microfinance pricing transparency data in Africa
November 30, 2009
Oikocredit partner first to offer transparency data: Oikocredit project partner PAWDEP is leading the way in microfinance pricing transparency in Africa
November 10, 2009
African Microfinance Transparency: AMT member PAWDEP becomes first Kenyan MFI to report to MFTransparency
October 29, 2009
MFTransparency would like to recognize Pamoja Women Development Programme (PAWDEP) as the first institution in Kenya to submit data. Congratulations to PAWDEP for establishing themselves as a leader in transparent pricing in the Kenyan microfinance industry.
Instructions for Data Collection Process
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Instructions
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Notes
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Step 1
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Fill out the basic information on the “MFI INFO” sheet
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Please note the “Number of Incomplete Data Points” counter as you fill in information. |
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Step 2
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Fill out a “LOAN PRODUCT” worksheet for every loan product you have, following instructions on the sheet carefully. | If you have questions after reading the instructions, feel free to e-mail us for clarification. The data tool has capacity for up to 10 loan products. If you have more, simply use multiple copies of the data collection tool. |
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Step 3
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Collect sample repayment schedules for EACH product using the guidance contained in the tool. | Please note: The data tool indicates how many samples are needed, and what loan amounts they should be for. They should be loans that were disbursed within the past two months. |
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Step 4
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Double check your work, perhaps with a colleague, to ensure accuracy of the data. | Verify that there are no incomplete cell errors or the data approval process will fail. You will be able to save the incomplete file, however. |
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Step 5
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Email data@mftransparency.org to request a confidential authorization code. This code is needed to insure that the data is being submitted by an authorized representative of the organization. Please include the name and email address of your Executive Director (or equivalent) in this request. | The confidential code will only be sent via email to the Executive Director / General Manager (or equivalent) of your institution. |
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Step 6
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MFTransparency will email the Executive Director (or equivalent) the confidential authorization code. |
We strive to return this code within 24 hours.
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Step 7
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Have the Executive Director (or equivalent) of your institution do a final review of the data and APPROVE its submission on the “Approval Sheet”, with the confidential authorization code. | Once approved, all data in the tool will be LOCKED and nobody can make any changes. If you notice changes that need to be made after you lock the worksheet, please contact us. |
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Step 8
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Email this workbook and the repayment schedules to data@mftransparency.org. If you cannot email the repayment schedules, please contact data@mftransparency.org to obtain a fax number you can use. | |
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Step 9
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MFTransparency will contact you and your Executive Director (or equivalent) if we have any questions regarding the data. Please contact data@mftransparency.org with any questions or concerns you may have throughout the process. |
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