The MasterCard Foundation, a Canada-based institution that was founded by US-based financial services firm MasterCard Worldwide, has announced that it will donate USD 4.3 million to The Smart Campaign, a US-based consumer protection initiative targeting microfinance clients worldwide. The partnership will mainly support The Smart Campaign’s Client Protection Certification, a third-party evaluation used to recognize financial institutions that meet what The Smart Campaign considers to be “adequate standards of care” of clients. The funds reportedly will be used for training materials, capacity building and assessments of financial institutions.
A program of US-based nonprofit Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion, The Smart Campaign is endorsed by approximately approximately 3,348 microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance support organizations, investors, donors and individual industry professionals. As of 2011, the MasterCard Foundation reported approximately USD 3.7 billion in assets.
By Brian LeBlanc, Research Associate
About the MasterCard Foundation
Based in Canada, the MasterCard Foundation is a private foundation with the goal of enabling people living in poverty to improve their lives with increased access to microfinance and education. The foundation was established in 2006 by a gift of shares from US-based payment processor MasterCard Worldwide during the company’s initial public offering. As of 2011, the MasterCard Foundation reported approximately USD 3.7 billion in assets.
About The Smart Campaign
The Smart Campaign, which was founded by US-based nonprofit Accion and is located at Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion in Washington, DC, is an “effort to unite microfinance leaders around a common goal: to keep clients as the driving force of the industry.” It promotes seven core consumer protection principles including: “appropriate” product design and delivery, prevention of over-indebtedness, transparency, responsible pricing, fair and respectful treatment of clients, privacy of client data, and mechanisms for complaint resolution. As of 2013, The Smart Campaign is endorsed by approximately 3,348 microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance support organizations, investors, donors and individual industry professionals.
About Accion
Accion is a private, US-based nonprofit organization with the mission of alleviating poverty by offering financial products such as microenterprise loans and business training. Accion was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. Accion’s partner microfinance institutions provide loans to men and women entrepreneurs through 62 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 31 countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. As of 2011, Accion reports total assets of USD 325 million and an active loan portfolio of USD 5.5 billion serving 5.1 million borrowers.
Sources and Additional Resources
PR Newswire article, “MasterCard Foundation Announces $4.3 Million Partnership with the Smart Campaign to Strengthen Client Protection in Microfinance,” http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-mastercard-foundation-announces-43-million-partnership-with-the-smart-campaign-to-strengthen-client-protection-in-microfinance-193809121.html
MicroCapital story, January 31, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Smart Campaign Launches Certification of Microfinance Institutions Regarding Client Protection,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-smart-campaign-launches-certification-of-microfinance-institutions-regarding-client-protection/
MicroCapital story, November 30, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, CGAP Announce $11.4m Partnership for Branchless Banking Client Research,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mastercard-foundation-cgap-announce-11-4m-partnership-for-branchless-banking-client-research/
MicroCapital story, August 10, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, SEEP Network Launch $7.6m Program for Microfinance Associations in Sub-Saharan Africa,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mastercard-foundation-seep-network-launch-7-6m-program-for-microfinance-associations-in-sub-saharan-africa/
MicroUniverse Profile: MasterCard Foundation https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MasterCard+Foundation
MicroUniverse Profile: The Smart Campaign https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=SMART+Campaign
MicroUniverse Profile: Accion https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Accion
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