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>Posted by Sergio Guzman
Today, we link to Accion Ambassador Juan Rubio’s post describing a social rating by Planet Rating at El Comercio in Paraguay.
Juan starts out with an interesting question–is measuring social performance similar to measuring love? How can it be quantified? Indeed, social performance can be an abstract concept and at times it seems a bit difficult to measure. However, there are Social Performance Standards have been specially designed in order to give us a better idea how MFIs are working not only towards the idea of improving clients life, but also making sure that their products are not making them any worse off.
Now, with some markets showing signs of saturation, managing social performance goals might be secondary for some bottom line focused institutions who might want to focus on their core business. Notwithstanding, this has proven to be a differentiating factor for many microfinance institutions like El Comercio who see this as a strategic objective. Or as we call it, Smart Microfinance.
Read the rest of Juan’s excellent post here and further stories from the field through the Accion Ambassadors blog.
Image credit:pastorgraphics.com
Have you read?
> Posted by Center Staff
Last week, New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof spotlighted Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and their power to give clients hope. He cites the story of one woman, Biti Rose, who gets a loan of $2 and starts selling doughnuts for 2 cents each. She makes a few dollars in profit each day and eventually begins to improve her life. Kristof admits that her story is not everyone’s. He does offer a nuanced picture of Biti’s story, however, using Banerjee and Duflo’s Poor Economics, positing that microfinance works because it offers the hope that people need to get themselves out of self-destructive pathologies.
The post begins:
If you want to understand some of the best new ideas to chip away at global poverty, an excellent place to start is the Nasoni family hut here in the southern African nation of Malawi. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
This edition of Top Picks features a post by Jessica Schicks on over-indebtedness and the consequences of repayment pressures, an important decision by the IMF to expand its focus, and a post that discusses the importance of good governance for social enterprises.
- Jessica Schicks recently wrote a post, “Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance – Who Should Bear the Risk?” for the CGAP Microfinance blog that discusses some of the risks associated with microcredit, specifically those related to over-indebtedness and repayment pressures. This post also reveals some of the very interesting findings from Schicks 2011 publication, Over-Indebtedness of Microborrowers in Ghana.
Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
In continuing our efforts to engage effectively with industry experts and a broad global community, we at the Center for Financial Inclusion are excited to announce the launch of the Center’s newly redesigned and revamped blog and website!
With the new sites, we hope to keep supporters, colleagues, and others connected with all of our program areas, including the Smart Campaign, Financial Inclusion 2020, Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities, Financial Access at Birth, and Investing in Inclusive Finance.
Our refreshed website will also serve as a hub for educational materials and resources: Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
This edition of Top Picks includes topics on the history of the financial sector, particularly in context of women, financial services for rural and agricultural communities, and areas in which microfinance has succeeded. These posts offer a look into some of the very interesting discussions that are occurring outside of the Center.
- What was banking like for women at the turn of the century? And why is it important to consider this history today? A recent post on the Financial Access Initiative blog, “Women in Banking“, briefly discusses the social components of financial services and offers some great resources for exploring the history of banking. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
This edition of Top Picks includes topics on the social motives of microfinanciers, the affect of generosity in developing communities, and the transformation of Africa. These posts offer a look into some of the very interesting discussions that are occurring outside of the Center.
- On his new blog, The Evidence Project, Chris Dunford writes about the importance of microfinanciers’ social motives. Check out “Do Social Motives Make Microfinanciers a Better Option for the Poor” to read more about social motives and their implications. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
In celebration of Earth Day (April 22), this edition of Top Picks features three different posts that are related in some way to our natural environment. The topics include climate-smart agriculture, solar-charging stations, and environmentally-focused impact investing.
- In a very interesting post, “Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture by Financing Small and Growing Business”, CGAP Microfinance explores clean technology in agriculture, sustainable practices in agroforestry, and other climate-smart options for productivity. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
The posts in this edition of Top Picks cover a variety of topics including the importance of a comprehensive unique identification system for India, World Water Day, environmental impact investing, and social entrepreneurship.
- A recent post from CGAP, “The biggest social experiment on the planet – Is unique ID a unique opportunity for India’s poor?” presents the idea that unique government-issued IDs can be crucial for financial inclusion and for significantly improving the delivery of welfare services in India.
- In celebration of World Water Day on March 22, Acumen Fund compiled an intriguing selection of photos related to water from several different countries. Check out the compilation in their recent post, “Capturing the best for World Water Day 2012”.
> Posted by Holly Padgett
In my opinion, blogs provide a great way to stay involved and up-to-date with current discussions about topics of interest. However, if you ever feel bombarded with information (and how does anyone have time to follow all the interesting blogs?), I understand. After all, at last count, Technorati was tracking over 100 million blogs.
With the idea of zeroing in on some of the most valuable resources out there, I recently took on the quite extensive project of creating a visual map of blogs related to financial inclusion. I started with three relevant blogs and mapped connecting blogs (based on blogrolls) to get a better idea of the blog community surrounding CFI. While the map was definitely not exhaustive, it was very informative.
If you’re interested in blogs related to financial inclusion and international development, I hope this post will act as a good resource.
Here’s a short list of blogs I uncovered that I, personally, find very interesting (this list is also not exhaustive – there are so many other great blogs I could add):
- David Roodman’s Microfinance Open Book Blog – This blog was an important part of the creation of Roodman’s new book Due Diligence (which looks incredibly interesting). Now that the book has been released, I hope he will continue to blog on relevant issues.
- Creating a World Without Poverty – This blog, by Grameen Foundation, discusses microfinance, financial inclusion, and the foundation’s initiatives, and gives a great overview of some of the toughest problems facing the world’s poor. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Center Staff
The dynamic between savings and borrowing, efforts to extend microloans that facilitate access to water and sanitation, and creative approaches to product development are all covered in this edition of Top Picks.
- Thirsty for good news? “Water and Sanitation Needs in India” are highlighted on the Acumen Fund’s blog, which outlines their investment in GUARDIAN (Gramalaya Urban And Rural Development Initiatives And Network), the world’s first MFI engaged in microlending to communities that lack access to individual water and sanitation facilities.
- “Are Borrowing and Saving Complements or Substitutes?” asks Jonathan Morduch on the Financial Access Initiative blog, where he notes that “Were households more confident in themselves, or if they had better mechanisms to achieve discipline, ‘borrowing to save’ would be less useful, but in an imperfect world it can be the best of an array of imperfect strategies.” Read the rest of this entry »
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