The Social Performance Task Force, a US-based nonprofit charged with addressing questions about measuring and managing social performance, in collaboration with the Smart Campaign, a client-protection initiative of US-based nonprofit Accion, recently launched the Responsible Microfinance Facility (RMF), a three-year initiative funded by the French government’s Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) to improve the capacity and performance of microfinance institutions in Africa and the Middle East. RMF will fund trainings, certifications, ratings and related activities that support improvements in social performance, which is defined as meeting an organization’s social goals such as serving more poor people, reducing poverty and minimizing over-indebtedness.
As of 2012, SPTF consists of approximately 1300 members including microfinance practitioners, donors, investors, technical assistance providers, rating agencies, academics and researchers .
Eighteen MFIs are certified by the Smart Campaign as of 2014.
As of 2013, AFD finances development projects in approximately 90 countries and reported total assets of USD 26 billion.
By Jacob Ferguson, Research Associate
About Social Performance Task Force
The US-based nonprofit Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) was created in 2005 by US-based CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Switzerland’s Argidius Foundation and the US-based Ford Foundation. As of 2015, SPTF consists of approximately 2200 members microfinance practitioners, donors, investors, technical assistance providers, rating agencies, academics and researchers. It has been charged with clearly defining social performance and addressing questions about measuring and managing social performance. According to SPTF, social performance is defined as meeting an organization’s social goals such as serving more poor people, reducing poverty and minimizing over-indebtedness.
About Agence Francaise de Developpement
Established in 1941, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a bilateral development finance institution whose mandate is to finance international development according to the policies of the French government. AFD finances development projects in approximately 90 countries. As of 2013, AFD reported total assets of EUR 24.7 billion (USD 33.9 billion).
About Smart Campaign
The Smart Campaign, which was founded by US-based nonprofit Accion and is located at Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion in the US city of Washington, 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 client protection principles: 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 2014, The Smart Campaign is endorsed by approximately 4,152 microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance support organizations, investors, donors and individual industry professionals. There are 18 MFIs certified by the Smart Campaign as of 2014.
[1] Social Performance Task Force: Responsible Microfinance Facility, http://sptf.info/sp-task-force/responsible-microfinance-facility
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Agence Francaise de Developpement
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Smart Campaign
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