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MFTransparency Brings Launch of Transparent Pricing Initiative to Bolivia

Published on June 10, 2010

MFTransparency recently expanded its work to launch its transparent pricing initiative in both Ecuador and Bolivia. The initiative is being funded by the Ford Foundation.The Bolivia initiative, also sponsored by the Dutch microfinance network MicroNed, was launched with workshops in both La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and the Ecuador initiative was launced with workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil.

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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Brings Launch of Transparent Pricing Initiative to Bolivia

MFTransparency, a non-governmental organization which promotes accurate and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its work to launch its transparent pricing initiative in both Ecuador and Bolivia.  The initiative is being funded by the Ford Foundation, which provided a grant (amount unspecified) to MFTransparency to expand its data collection and dissemination efforts in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.

The Bolivia initiative, also sponsored by the Dutch microfinance network MicroNed, was launched with workshops in both La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and the Ecuador initiative was launced with workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil.  Both workshops were also supported by local strategic partners in the initiative, the Association of Financial Entities Specialized in Microfinance andAssociation of Financial Institutions for Rural Development in Bolivia and Red Financiera Rural in Ecuador, and were attended by local microfinance practitioners as well as investors, rating agencies and other industry stakeholders.

During these workshops, MFTransparency communicated the standards for calculating loan costs and interest rates and encouraged all MFIs in these countries to participate in the initiative.  As part of this initiative, MFTransparency will calcuate and publish the effective interest rates of microcredit products in the Bolivia and Ecuador markets.

By Jennifer Shevock, Research Associate

About MFTransparency:

MFTransparency is a US-based, non-governmental organization founded in 2008 with the purpose of facilitating transparent markets through the dissemination of accurate and comparable cost information to all stakeholders. The group has organized transparent pricing efforts in Bosnia, Peru, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Ecuador.   More than 200 industry professionals and organizations have committed to transparent pricing by endorsing MFTransparency and its initiative.

About the Ford Foundation:

The Ford Foundation is a nonprofit, grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been led by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

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