MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SmartAid for Microfinance Index 2009 Publishes Results

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) has announced its SmartAid for Microfinance Index 2009 results. The SmartAid for Microfinance Index is an index created by CGAP to measure and rate the performance of funders in microfinance. A group of eleven funders, which include development finance institutions and multilateral agencies, participated in the 2009 SmartAid Index and together represent more than fifty percent of all cross-border funding in microfinance. The 2009 SmartAid Index results show that funders scored best on “strategic clarity,” followed by “appropriate instruments” while they scored the lowest in the category of “accountability for results”. Barbara Gahwiler, member of SmartAid team, states, “This means that funding can continue regardless of performance. Without knowing the performance of its microfinance portfolio, an agency cannot manage it effectively, and important lessons from past experience are lost. What’s more, the industry still has a long way to go to develop indicators for tracking the performance of support to the market.”

About SmartAid for Microfinance Index:
Founded in 2006 by the heads of 29 development institutions and spearheaded by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), the SmartAid for Microfinance Index rates funders by the effectiveness of their management systems. The SmartAid for Microfinance Index analyzes five areas: strategic clarity, staff capacity, accountability for results, knowledge management, and appropriate instruments. A pilot SmartAid round was conducted in 2007 with seven funders, and the positive results encouraged growth of the group to eleven funders, which participated in the 2009 SmartAid Index. SmartAid website: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.11.7956/ 
 
About CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor):
Housed at the World Bank Group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is an independent policy and research center dedicated to providing financial access for the world’s poor. CGAP is supported by over thirty development agencies and private foundations.  It’s mission is to provide market intelligence, to promote standards and to offer advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors and investors. CGAP website: http://www.cgap.org
 
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