“Nearly every industry requires infrastructure to thrive, and this goes for the microfinance industry too. But the infrastructure that the global microfinance industry has constructed over the past two decades is looking a bit shaky today. Infrastructure investments are urgently needed to keep the industry sound and prepare it for the future.”
With that introduction, CFI called for an investigation, to be followed by action, into the state of the information infrastructure that supports the microfinance sector. CFI subsequently conducted a study of three main microfinance information infrastructure elements. This study aimed to help microfinance stakeholders understand the business models of the information providers and allow the stakeholders to identify actions that might improve the sustainability of the information infrastructure. This report summarizes the findings of the study and puts forward action recommendations for consideration.
This investigation was led by Emmanuelle Javoy, who also prepared this summary with input from Elisabeth Rhyne. Thanks to the Microfinance Information eXchange, Microfinanza Rating, Microrate, Planet Rating and Microfinance Transparency for sharing their information. Thanks to Julie Harris for research input. Thanks to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, Gail Buyske, Jeffrey Binstock, Asad Mahmood and Daniel Rozas for input during advisory sessions. Thanks to Anne Hastings for management, oversight and advice. Thanks to Calmeadow and Moody’s for their financial support and to the Netherlands Platform for Inclusive Finance for hosting our convening of European stakeholders. FINCA International provided meeting space for the convening of stakeholders in Washington, D.C.
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