MICROCAPITAL BRIEF:Chairman of Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan Warns of Opacity in Donor Funding

Vincent Olweny Oywak, chairman of the Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan (MASS), a coalition of six microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in southern Sudan, recently complained about the opacity of foreign donor funding to microfinance institutions in Sudan.

He laments that donor funding originally intended for the whole microfinance industry of Sudan has instead, ended up at a small number of unspecified microfinance institutions. Mr Oywak warns that this puts small businesses- dependent on microcredit- at risk.

Officials of MASS urged the government to increase transparency in the microfinance industry and take a more active role to support MFIs financially. “The government and its partners must play leading roles in reversing this trend which is threatening to damage the reputation of the microfinance industry,” said Mr Oywak.

MASS currently does not report data to Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.

About the Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan (MASS):

Based in Juba, Sudan, Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan (MASS) is a fee-based membership association that aims to create a platform for microfinance institutions (MFIs) to exchange information on best practices. As of October 2010, it has six members: Sudan Microfinance Institution (SUMI), Finance Sudan Limited, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT), Jahlia Savings and Credit limited (JASCO) and Finance & Development Services Co. Ltd (FDS). MASS currently does not report data to Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.

By Trevor Kwong, Research Assistant

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Sudan Tribune: South Sudan: 10,000 micro-businesses at risk of collapse:

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article36720

[2] Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan: Board members:

http://southsudan-mass.org/about-us/board-members.html

[3] MicroCapital Universe: Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan (MASS):

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Microfinance+Association+of+Southern+Sudan+%28MASS%29

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