We are pleased to announce the commencement of this year’s Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ghana. Microfinance Institutions in Ghana are invited to join the Initiative by becoming transparent in their pricing.

As part of MFTransparency’s enabling APR & EIR Program, financial education experts have developed a universal pricing education package, aimed at consumers of microloans. These resources have been developed to be tailorable, aknowledging the diversity of Africa’s communities.

For each of the countries in which MFTransparency works a thorough review is conducted, known as a Country Survey, outlining national socio-economic, political and historic factors. Summarizing the country specific context, Country Surveys form a valuable backdrop against which to examine a market’s pricing data.

On August 23, 2011 MFTransparency launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Mozambique with a workshop in Maputo. Topics covered included the importance and implantation of pricing transparency. View the presentations here.

Financial education, financial literacy, and financial capabilities are hot topics in development today. They have the attention of donors and of governments all over Africa – and all over the world. Financial education is also a key activity in MFTransparency’s enabling APR & EIR Program.

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.

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”.

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.

Innovative Finance Limited, Association of Progressive Entrepreneurs in Development, Community Aid for Sustainable Development, E-Life Development Agency, Initiative Development – Ghana, Opportunity International Savings and Loan Limited Ghana, Sekam Trust International, Grameen Ghana, CashPhase Ghana Limited and AIDEZ Small Project International are the first ten microfinance institutions to participate in the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ghana.