MFTransparency to Make History with First Data Launch

For the first time in history, the microfinance transparency movement is going to provide extensive, accurate microfinance product pricing data publicly. This data will help protect consumers, enhance services and expand access to financial services.   To continue expanding this movement, MFTransparency will need your help.  The following are some ways that your support will help:

• MFTransparency is a widespread initiative. We have support from MFIs and investors in countries around the world, and endorsements from over 200 people.  Tangible contributions are necessary to translate this support into concrete successes.
• Major funders are able to support us more readily if they can see they are contributing to a broad base of financial support.
• When we visit Central Bankers during our data collection process in each country, they want to know who is sending us. Your sponsorship shows that as we implement our transparent pricing initiative it is you we are representing.

You can become a sponsor by clicking the sponsor link:

On October 19^th we will start posting transparent pricing data for our first three countries.  You can be a part of this groundbreaking event by becoming a sponsor of MFTransparency’s data launch.  The sponsorship options are as follows:

We are not asking for large amounts, just something to show your commitment in a tangible way.  You can match your organization type in the table above with the level of sponsorship you would like to provide (e.g. a national MFI sponsoring at the Emerald level would send us $2,000).  As a sponsor your logo will be prominently displayed on our website alongside the data that we present.  In this way you will demonstrate to all who visit our site – investors, donors, government officials, Central Bankers and MFIs – your commitment to pricing transparency and consumer protection.

We will use your sponsorship funds to help build our website into a portal that can foster discussions about the data we gather.  What are we as a community learning about the costs of making loans to poor people?  What can we learn from each other?  We want our website to be a place where you can not only learn about prices, but also contribute your thoughts and ideas about how we can make financial services more affordable for those who use our services.

Our pilot data collection efforts have gone extremely well.  In Cambodia and Bosnia we had 95-100% of the microfinance market submit pricing data.  In Peru, the largest market in all of Latin America, MFIs representing over half of the US$4 billion micro-loan portfolio and two thirds of the clients have already submitted data to MFTransparency, with new data arriving every week.

Making our first data available will demonstrate to the public that MFIs, donors and investors around the world are committed to bringing pricing transparency to microfinance.  This data will generate a lot of traffic to our site, and your commitment to pricing transparency should be visible to the people who visit.

As MFTransparency implements its transparent pricing initiative in different countries, it is evident that the level of encouragement and support that we have from almost all sectors of the microfinance community is high.  If you can translate some of that support into a sponsorship now, we will be able to leverage it many times over in the coming months.  Together we can take the sort of action that benefits our clients and protects their ability to provide for themselves and their families.

The following organizations and individuals have already become sponsors of the MFTransparency data launch:

You can become a sponsor by clicking the sponsor button or link:

https://www.mftransparency.org/sponsor/launch/