2004 Award Recipients

Compartamos demonstrates full compliance with international reporting standards

Award Recipients | Audio Clip | Photos |

CGAP is proud to present the recipients of the 2004 Financial Transparency Award

In its first year, this award marks an important milestone in the development of the microfinance industry. By striving to comply with international disclosure guidelines, including industry-specific CGAP Disclosure Guidelines, the institutions which participated in this year’s competition are doing more than improving the world of microfinance: They are helping make microfinance institutions’ performance better understood by the general public and hence helping build more inclusive financial systems for the poor.

Microfinance institutions, whose origins were social, are professionalizing, becoming profitable and getting licensed to take deposits. In fact, in many markets, microfinance institutions are stronger and more profitable than leading banks. Collectively, such institutions are seeking more and more commercial funding, working hard to become more transparent in their financial reporting. The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) - the Bloomberg of microfinance - now reports on more than 400 institutions, several of which boast “5-diamond” ratings.

For those of us who worked in microfinance even five years ago, this is staggering progress: We have gone from having no reliable information at all to having a wealth of data on a growing portion of the market. But, most important, we now have the framework on which to build an entire financial sector, folding it into the mainstream while retaining its focus on serving the poor.

Nearly 150 microfinance institutions committed to transparency from 48 countries applied for the award. Of these, 110 met the entry criteria. Entrants were scored based on their compliance with key international and industry accounting standards spelled out in the CGAP Disclosure Guidelines for Financial Reporting—the most widely accepted benchmark for microfinance transparency.

The response to the Financial Transparency Award is another sign that the microfinance industry is growing into its own. CGAP is proud to sponsor the award and invites everyone in the microfinance industry and beyond -- including investors, policymakers, and regulators -- to learn what it says about the institutions that have earned it.

2004 Awardees

Honorable Mention (High Level of Compliance):

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