Event Name: USAID Microenterprise Development Office After Hours Seminar #53 – Microfinance Investment Transparency and Evaluation

Event Date: July 20, 2011; 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EDT

Event Location: QED Group, Washington DC, USA or online

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar at: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Cost: There is no cost to attend

Summary of Event: Mr Sebastian von Stauffenberg, CEO of MicroRate, and Mr Chuck Waterfield, CEO of MFTransparency will speak about transparent pricing for responsible investment, the role of investors and the microfinance evaluation landscape. Also to be discussed are the Smart Campaign, a global consumer protection initiative launched by US-based nonprofit ACCION International and the Social Performance Task Force, an initiative of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Argidius Foundation and Ford Foundation.

MicroRate was founded in 1997 as a rating agency specializing in microfinance. Its goal is to increase transparency as a means of facilitating the growth of informed investment in microfinance.

MFTransparency is a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) launched in July 2008 to provide information on microcredit products and their prices. Its intention is to establish the industry standard for pricing disclosure and to facilitate a fair exchange of microfinance products between suppliers and consumers.

Event Website: http://microlinks.kdid.org/learning-marketplace/after-hours/microfinance-investment-transparency-and-evaluation

For additional information, you may contact the QED Group via email at afterhours@qedgroupllc.com or United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at +1 202 712 0000.

To access resources from USAID aimed at improving the outcomes of microenterprise development research and practice, you may visit http://microlinks.kdid.org/

Submit Your Event: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

By Carol Kim, Research Associate

About MicroRate: MicroRate was founded in the US in 1997 with the intent to objectively evaluate microfinance institutions (MFIs) and thereby increase transparency and drive additional funding into microfinance. MicroRate has evaluated approximately 500 MFIs worldwide and claims to perform its evaluations not through “rigid rating formulas,” but through “evaluation of critical risk.” As of 2010, the organization had offices in the United States, Peru and Morocco.

About MFTransparency: MFTransparency is a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that was launched in July 2008 to provide information on microcredit products and their prices. MFTransparency collects data on the interest and fees charged on microfinance loan products in order to calculate the effective interest rates on those loans. Its intention is to establish the industry standard for pricing disclosure and to facilitate a fair exchange of microfinance products between suppliers and consumers. As of April 2011, MFTransparency has released pricing data from eight countries.

About The United States Agency for International Development (USAID): USAID is a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance. It focuses on areas such as economic growth, agriculture, trade, health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. Under the Development Credit Authority (DCA), it provides credit guarantees that cover up to 50 percent of defaults on wholesale loans made by private financial institutions to institutions that lend on a retail basis to underserved borrowers. The proposed USAID budget for 2011 is USD 18.8 billion.

About Smart Campaign: The Smart Campaign is housed at the Center for Financial Inclusion in Washington, DC, and was founded with seed money from US-based nonprofit ACCION International. It seeks to promote six core consumer protection principles including: avoidance of over-indebtedness, transparent and responsible pricing, appropriate collection principles, ethical staff behavior, mechanisms for redress of grievances and privacy of client data. As of February 2011, approximately 1,600 microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance support organizations, investors, donors and individual industry professionals have endorsed the Smart Campaign.

About Social Performance Task Force: The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) was created in 2005 as an initiative of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Argidius Foundation and Ford Foundation. As of February 2011 SPTF consists of approximately 850 leaders from microfinance stakeholder groups including practitioners, donors and investors (multilateral, bilateral and private), national and regional networks, technical assistance providers, rating agencies, academics, researchers and others. It has been charged with clearly defining social performance and addressing questions about measuring and managing social performance. According to SPTF, social performance includes operating “in line with accepted social values that relate to serving larger numbers of poor and excluded people.”

Sources and Additional Resources:

Microlinks: “Microfinance Investment Transparency and Evaluation” http://microlinks.kdid.org/learning-marketplace/after-hours/microfinance-investment-transparency-and-evaluation

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Announces First Microfinance Data Submissions for Ghana Transparent Pricing Initiative”, June 20, 2011, http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mftransparency-announces-first-microfinance-data-submissions-for-ghana-transparent-pricing-initiative/

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Microfinance Blog Examines Role of Transparency in Strengthening the Microfinance Sector”, May 3, 2011, http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-cgap-consultative-group-to-assist-the-poor-microfinance-blog-examines-role-of-transparency-in-strengthening-the-microfinance-sector/

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: MicroRate, http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MicroRate

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: MFTransparency, http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MFTransparency

MicroCapital Universe Profile: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=United+States+Agency+for+Internationa+Development+%28USAID%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Smart Campaign, http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=SMART+Campaign

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Social Performance Task Force, http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Social+Performance+Task+Force

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/