Center for Financial Inclusion: Microfinance Transparency recently released an interactive video designed to share information about flat and declining interest rates in an engaging new way.

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.

All Africa: Limited knowledge about the products, costs as well as charges by financial institutions is halting access to finance for small and micro businesses, according to experts. Jessica Massie, a consultant with Microfinance Transparency notes that most borrowers lack basic knowledge about financial products offered by lenders, particularly bank charges, interest rates and the cost of a product.

During the past few months MFTransparency, has been offering direct trainings and technical assistance to MFIs participating in The Transparent Pricing Initiative in West Africa.

RESULTS: An interesting recent initiative that is opening up the interest rates charged in the sector to greater scrutiny is MicroFinance Transparency. Data is currently being collected for India, with 80 MFIs (including SKS) having provided data so far.

In the case of pricing transparency, regulators and networks can work to shape the path for clients and MFIs by providing simple, standardized, accessible “buckets” that contain understandable information about how much credit really costs.

MFTransparency’s financial education team in Rwanda has been learning a lot about the client perspective as we complete the first phase of our financial education pilot program. Through interviews and focus groups, we are learning directly from clients about the experience of making borrowing decisions based on price, and learning about what approaches to education are effective and which may be less effective.

MIX Market: MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange), today launched the Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor (africa.mixmarket.org) to help practitioners and policymakers better understand access to finance in Africa.

MFTransparency’s Financial Education Program is focused on developing a set of financial education materials addressing clients’ ability to make decisions about borrowing based on the prices of microloans.

MFTransparency is increasingly building our education and training program, offering materials and tools, technical assistance and workshop sessions to a range of microfinance industry stakeholders. Recently this has included a special policy workshop for the Bank of Zambia, training sessions for Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders and collaboration with other industry initiatives such as Oikocredit’s social performance sessions in Accra, Ghana and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines’ (MCPI) annual conference.