SPTF presentation

fieldtesting angola

fieldtesting indonesia

fieldtesting peru

webinar

New blog on Green Performance Management for Microfinance

A New blog was launched by HIVOS, Triodos and Triodos Facet, dedicated to the development and implementation of a Manual for Green Performance Management: http://gpm4mf.blogspot.nl/

Environment E-vent on SPM Network

Today had an interesting discussion about environment and microfinance. Check out the content here: http://spmnetwork.net/group/tbl

New Joint IFC - GRI Publication

IFC sees sustainability reporting as a timely next step to improve transparency and strengthen trust in the private
sector. It is also a management tool that can help companies to identify operational efficiency improvements,
innovate in their products and services, build stronger relationships with stakeholders, enhance reputational
value and, increasingly, attract investors.
IFC would like to see many more of theirclients undertaking GRI-based reporting alongside and as part of
their traditional annual reporting. Companies achieving excellence across all aspects of management are
companies most likely to grow and succeed over the long term.

Click here for the full report (pdf).

New Triodos Facet Publications

See short description below. Both Publications can be found on Triodos Facet website here. 

Risk Management and Sustainability Management: A Handbook for Microfinance Practitioners 2009
Authors: Tom Baur, John Guzowski, Geert Jan Schuite, Triodos Facet, September 2009.

This Handbook on Sustainability and Risk Management is intended to help microfinance institutions by suggesting a practical approach for improving their performance.

Few areas of banking are more important these days than the ability to mange risks. As the sector professionalises, the enviironmental, health and safety impact becomes more relevant to fiancial institutions. Eleven practical tools form the core of this handbook.

Trends in Microfinance
Authors: Stefan Platteau, Hedwig Siewertsen, Triodos Facet , May 2009.

Triodos Facet has looked into the future and found trends in Microfinance for 2010 - 2015. Read about the disappearance of the term microfinance, the entrance of new service providers and the future of self help groups, technology and value chain development in microfinance.  

Microfinance Insights May/June 2009 issue

An interesting article by Micol Guarneri in Microfinance Insights:

Elusive Impact or Concrete Change: How Social Performance Assessment is Helping to Change the Face of Reporting in Microfinance When chasing multiple bottom line returns in microfinance, attaining concrete evidence on social impact can often be cost prohibitive and time-consuming, not to mention difficult to segregate causality. Yet achieving more concrete evidence of MFI social performance is not as elusive as it once seemed. The evolution and importance of social performance management and measurement—for donors, investors and MFIs alike—indicates the growing consensus around treating social performance as a process rather than a static outcome. Micol Guarneri, the Director of the Social Rating Department at MicroFinanza Rating, discusses how social rating, complementary to the traditional financial performance assessment, is emerging as a tool through which an MFI’s social returns may be monitored and even benchmarked against best practice and industry standards.

See here for a link to this and other interesting articles on Microfinance and Impact. By the way: This interesting periodic gives away free 1-yr subscriptions. Check them out!