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MIX Brings Social Performance to the Forefront of Microfinance

Published on February 26, 2011

Thanks to the support of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the industry’s leading source for financial and social performance data, now offers funders and other stakeholders easy access to social performance information in conjunction with financial performance information.

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MIX Brings Social Performance to the Forefront of MicrofinanceRecent microfinance crises and debate over the practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) have made it more apparent than ever that financial performance should not be the only standard by which MFIs should be evaluated. To measure an MFI’s overall performance, social performance management— the process of ensuring that an MFI acts in a socially responsible manner— has emerged as a critical factor.Thanks to the support of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the industry’s leading source for financial and social performance data, now offers funders and other stakeholders easy access to social performance information in conjunction with financial performance information. As part of its ongoing mission to enhance transparency in the microfinance industry, MIX has taken major steps both to integrate social performance reporting with standard financial reporting and to enhance data access.

“The integration of social performance data with financial and operational data highlights MIX’s commitment and efforts to institute a higher level of transparency and accountability into the social performance and responsible practices of microfinance institutions globally,” stated Geeta Goel, Microfinance Program Director at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.  

For the first time, MIX Market now provides an all-encompassing view of an MFI’s performance by integrating social performance data into its online display. This makes social performance data more accessible to MIX Market users, underscores the importance of social performance management, increases the visibility of MFIs’ social performance practices, and makes it easier for users to analyze an institution’s performance across both financial and social indicators.

Noted Frank DeGiovanni, Director of Financial Assets at the Ford Foundation: “A wealth of financial and social performance data is now available at our fingertips and practitioners, donors, investors, and researchers alike should find this information very helpful in making informed decisions about the performance of the microfinance field and individual organizations.”

In tandem with this new display and in coordination with the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), MIX has revised the list of indicators used to measure the social performance of MFIs. Incorporating feedback from MFIs, funders, and networks with 2 years of MIX data analysis, the new set of 11 core indicators will help simplify the process of social performance reporting, encourage greater industry analysis, and enable grand scale social performance benchmarking.

The data collected from more than 400 MFIs across the past two years have already yielded deep insights into the practice and performance of MFIs across social indicators. For example, the implementation of consumer protection policies are increasingly recognized as important areas by MFIs. However they need to be expanded and improved, especially given the high levels of multiple lending in certain sub-regions, which has created serious problems of over-indebtedness and delinquency,” noted Micol Pistelli, Social Performance Program Manager at MIX.

Social performance management continues to be a work in progress. Nevertheless, MIX’s efforts to report on this information are already influencing the daily operations of many microfinance institutions.

Today, the global commitment to ethical behavior in microfinance and effort to measure social performance results helps to ensure the sector continues to grow in a healthy manner and that an increasing number of clients’ needs are met.

Read this press release in Spanish

Read this press release in French

About MIX

MIX is the premier source for objective, qualified and relevant performance information on the microfinance data and analysis. Committed to strengthening financial inclusion and the microfinance sector by promoting transparency, MIX provides objective, qualified and relevant performance information on microfinance institutions (MFIs), funders, networks and service providers dedicated to serving the financial sector needs for low-income clients.

MIX fulfills its mission through a variety of platforms. On MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org), we provide instant access to financial and social performance information covering more than 1,900 MFIs around the world. Our publications, MicroBanking Bulletin and MIX Microfinance World, feature thorough and timely analysis based on qualified data and research.

Incorporated in 2002, MIX is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC with regional offices in Azerbaijan, India, Morocco, and Peru. Our efforts are strengthened through our collaboration with the following global partners: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CGAP, Omidyar Network, The MasterCard Foundation, IFAD, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Citi Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Deutsche Bank. For more information about MIX, please visit www.themix.org.

About Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children living in urban poverty around the world. With offices in Austin, TX, Cape Town, South Africa and New Delhi, India, the Dell family foundation funds programs that foster high-quality public education and childhood health, and improve the economic stability of families living in poverty. The foundation has committed more than $650 million to global children’s issues and community initiatives to date.

About Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided 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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