MFTransparency, a non-governmental organization which promotes accurate and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its work to launch its transparent pricing initiative in both Ecuador and Bolivia. The initiative is being funded by the Ford Foundation, which provided a grant (amount unspecified) to MFTransparency to expand its data collection and dissemination efforts in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
The Bolivia initiative, also sponsored by the Dutch microfinance network MicroNed, was launched with workshops in both La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and the Ecuador initiative was launced with workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil. Both workshops were also supported by local strategic partners in the initiative, the Association of Financial Entities Specialized in Microfinance andAssociation of Financial Institutions for Rural Development in Bolivia and Red Financiera Rural in Ecuador, and were attended by local microfinance practitioners as well as investors, rating agencies and other industry stakeholders.
During these workshops, MFTransparency communicated the standards for calculating loan costs and interest rates and encouraged all MFIs in these countries to participate in the initiative. As part of this initiative, MFTransparency will calcuate and publish the effective interest rates of microcredit products in the Bolivia and Ecuador markets.
By Jennifer Shevock, Research Associate
About MFTransparency:
MFTransparency is a US-based, non-governmental organization founded in 2008 with the purpose of facilitating transparent markets through the dissemination of accurate and comparable cost information to all stakeholders. The group has organized transparent pricing efforts in Bosnia, Peru, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Ecuador. More than 200 industry professionals and organizations have committed to transparent pricing by endorsing MFTransparency and its initiative.
About the Ford Foundation:
The Ford Foundation is a nonprofit, grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been led by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Sources and Additional Resources:
“Warm Welcome in Ecuador for Pricing Transparency Initiative” May 12, 2010. http://www.mftransparency.org/pages/2010/05/12/project-launch-in-ecuador/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “MicroFinance Transparency Receives Ford Foundation Grant to Promote Transparency in Latin American Microfinance Industry” March 22, 2010. https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-transparency-receives-ford-foundation-grant-to-promote-transparency-in-latin-american-microfinance-industry/
MicroCapital Universe: MFTransparency: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MFTransparency
MicroCapital Universe: Ford Foundation: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Ford+Foundation
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
Source press release submitted by MFTransparency to MicroCapital, May 27, 2010:
LANCASTER, PA, USA & LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, May 27, 2010 — MFTransparency launched its Transparent Pricing Initiative in Bolivia, hosting two workshops in La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra during the first week of May. MFTransparency’s strategic partners in this effort are the two local microfinance networks ASOFIN and FINRURAL. The Transparent Pricing Initiative in Bolivia is sponsored by the Ford Foundation and MicroNed to promote fair and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry.
The launch of the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Bolivia was a great success, with 71 people attending the workshop in La Paz, and 33 participants in Santa Cruz. Stakeholders across the entire spectrum of the Bolivian microfinance sector participated in these events, including representatives of the most prominent microfinance institutions in Bolivia, the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and the Supervisory Authority of the Financial System (ASFI). Also in attendance were investors including Oikocredit, LOCFUND, Bolivian Investments Management and Alphamundi Group, as well as other industry stakeholders such as the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), World Vision, PROFIN Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. “We really appreciate the overwhelming support for our Initiative in Bolivia and we are delighted that all the member MFIs of ASOFIN and FINRURAL participated in our workshops,” says Chuck Waterfield, CEO and President of MFTransparency.
During the opening ceremony in La Paz, Fernando Prado and Nestor Castro, managers of ASOFIN and FINRURAL respectively, highlighted the importance of pricing transparency in the country. During the closing ceremony, both signed MFTransparency’s Endorsement Statement, joining more than 350 endorsers across the globe supporting this Initiative. “We are excited to announce that many other stakeholders of the Bolivian microfinance sector followed suit and signed our endorsement form”, says Chuck Waterfield. (For the full list, please see Endorsements)
At the workshops in La Paz and Santa Cruz, MFTransparency shared with key stakeholders of the Bolivian microfinance community the new industry standard for calculating interest rates on microcredit products. The group invited all MFIs in the country to actively participate in becoming a member of the MFTransparency project. Bolivia was selected as the second country in Latin America for the Transparent Pricing Initiative for its dynamic and globally recognized microfinance industry.
In the coming weeks, MFTransparency will collect data on interest rates, fees and other costs to the client for each microcredit product in Bolivia in order to calculate the accurate true price (effective interest rate) of these loans. The team will publish this information on its website for the entire Bolivian market (www.mftransparency.org).
Source press release submitted by MFTransparency to MicroCapital, June 4, 2010:
LANCASTER, PA & QUITO, ECUADOR, June 4, 2010 — MFTransparency kicked off the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ecuador in collaboration with its local strategic partner, the Red Financiera Rural, during the last week of April. A series of workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil training industry professionals on issues related to pricing transparency and consumer protection marked the launch of MFTransparency’s Initiative in the third country in Latin America. This Ecuadorian Initiative forms part of the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Latin America that is sponsored by the Ford Foundation to promote fair pricing practices and responsibility.
Alexandra Fiorillo, Vice President of MFTransparency said, “Our initial events in Ecuador have been a great opportunity to implement the Transparent Pricing Initiative in this dynamic microfinance sector and we greatly appreciate the warm welcome for our Initiative in the country.” Among the diverse participants of the workshops in Quito, Ambato and Guayaquil were representatives of the most prominent regulated and non-regulated MFIs, as well as other major industry players, such as the Banking Superintendency, the Ministry Coordinator of Production and the Private Banking Association of Ecuador, as well as donors, investors, rating agencies and providers of technical assistance.
“RFR promotes information transparency and believes this is another important initiative to boost the development of microfinance in Ecuador,” expressed the Red Financiera Rural that supports this Initiative.
“We are excited to be working with the diverse Ecuadorian microfinance community in the coming months to collect and analyze data on the prices of each microcredit product in the Ecuadorian market,” said Chuck Waterfield, CEO and President of MFTransparency.
MFTransparency’s team has recently undertaken similar workshops and data collection efforts in Bosnia, Peru, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan and Kenya and has scheduled to launch the transparency project in 24 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia this year.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Borrows $2m from Aequitas Impact Fund to Uplift Women-owned Businesses in Nicaragua
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSPs in Ecuador to Evaluate Role of Bias in Financial Access for Women-led MSMEs with Support from IDB Invest, RFD
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Annual CLIIQ Nexus Latam; September 26-28, 2023; Cuenca, Ecuador
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023 Offering $500k for Fintech Innovation
- MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “2023 Microfinance Index Report,” Published by 60 Decibels
