The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released two benchmarking reports in conjunction with local partners – one with REDCAMIF covering Central America and one with the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) covering that country.
The Benchmarking Report and Analysis for Central America (in Spanish – due to be released in English in September) reviews microfinance institution (MFI) performance based on data from 75 MFIs throughout the region. According to the report, Central American MFIs continue to close the performance gap against the rest of the Latin America region, with the median MFI in the five largest Central American countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) reaching financial self-sufficiency, a significant achievement in microfinance in the sub-region. The report also includes league tables ranking the top 10 Central American microfinance institutions in eight categories of performance.
The Red Centroamericana de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF), located in Nicaragua, represents the national networks of Central America. Its mission is to consolidate the microfinance industry in Central America, to promote the institutional strengthening of the national networks and their members and to generate strategic alliances that contribute to improved quality of life for member clients.
The Azerbaijan Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Trends Report includes market analysis based on 2007 financial data – the most recent available – from 12 MFIs and three-year trend data on a subset of 9 MFIs. The report argues that, although the Azerbaijani microfinance market is moving towards maturity, non-bank MFIs still dominate the market. Because of its young age relative to other microfinance markets in the Central Asia region, Azerbaijan MFIs exhibited faster growth in outreach and scale than most of its regional peers, while at the same time resisting going up-market. This indicates that MFIs in Azerbaijan remain focused on reaching the poorer populations with microloans and savings services. The report covers the regulatory environment and macroeconomic conditions, including the high inflation Azerbaijan has been experiencing, and how these factors impact MFIs and their outreach to microentrepreneurs and other clients.
AMFA was established by ten international non-governmental organizations in 2001 to educate and inform the broader community about importance of microfinance in the country and to serve as a focal point of microfinance for the region. As of August, 2008, AMFA’s membership constituted 24 organizations – 9 downscaling commercial banks and 15 non–bank credit organizations and credit unions.
MIX aims to strengthen the microfinance sector by providing detailed performance and financial information on microfinance institutions, investors, networks and service providers associated with the industry. MIX does this through a variety of publicly available platforms, including MIX Market and the MicroBanking Bulletin. MIX is a nonprofit company founded by CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).
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