Grameen Foundation is expanding its technology for microfinance initiative to provide
enhanced support to high-growth, mid-size microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving up to one
million clients. It also plans to extend the Mifos platform to enhance connectivity to
mobile payment systems and improve the integration of the Progress out of Poverty Index.
These efforts are being supported by The MasterCard and Cisco Foundations.

In addition to enabling MFIs to automate their operations, Mifos offers a common platform
for the microfinance industry to combine efforts, deliver information and financing to poor
people more seamlessly and capture and utilize social performance data. The PPI is a
globally recognized poverty assessment tool which enables MFIs to understand their
effectiveness in targeting poor clients and tracking their progress.

The $1.23 million from The MasterCard Foundation will help form the Mifos Consortium. This
group of bellwether MFIs will help to develop a benchmark for successful technology
management in the microfinance sector and demonstrate the potential return on investment.
The consortium program is part of the Grameen Foundation's 10-year plan of reaching 100
million new clients through MFIs using its Mifos platform.

It is also geared towards building the ranks of mid-sized MFIs by enabling members to expand
their outreach to at least 300,000 additional clients over two years. The inaugural members
include Grameen Koota of India, enda inter-arabe of Tunisia, Al Majmoua of Lebanon, KEEF of
Kenya, and KMBI of the Philippines.

"The MasterCard Foundation and Grameen Foundation share a goal of using technology to
accelerate the expansion of microfinance to the poor," says Reeta Roy, president and CEO,
The MasterCard Foundation. "This program will document the impact of Mifos and enable MFIs
to more effectively use technology."

"We are pleased to work with The MasterCard Foundation and the Cisco Foundation in helping
to establish a technology standard for microfinance institutions," says Alex Counts,
president and CEO of Grameen Foundation. "This will allow them to effectively manage
information and financing and vastly simplify the process of developing and providing new
services that can accelerate the rate at which they serve the poor.".

 

 

 

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