Academy for Educational Development

Much of the energy of the microfinance sector has focused on building financially sustainable institutions capable of providing credit and other services to underserved populations.












This commercial focus has allowed microfinance to rapidly rise as one of the most promising practices for reducing poverty. That focus on meeting strict financial targets, however, can threaten a microfinance institution's social commitment to reach the poor, since these populations are more costly to serve effectively.













To help balance these forces, many institutions are trying to establishing a social bottom line that can be tracked in conjunction with the traditional and dominant financial bottom line. This double bottom line measures the true value and effectiveness of a microfinance institution.












To help develop a common social performance measurement approach among the microfinance industry, AED's FIELD Program joined with the The SEEP Network to explore the options available.










The result is The Social Performance Map, a publication that analyzes current, private-sector efforts to integrate a social bottom line with their traditional financial performance goals.











To disseminate the findings and, more importantly, to foster an industry-wide discussion on this subject, AED brought together more than 70 people this past spring for an online and on-site event called Social Performance: So We Have a Map. Now What?











The event provided an overview of "The Social Performance Map " and engaged participants in a discussion on how they believe microfinance can better utilize and advance social performance tools.











"This kind of global learning event re-energizes our commitment to building win-win solutions that meet both business and social objectives," FIELD Program Director Paul Bundick noted following the session.











A success by all counts, the FIELD-SEEP Network partnership, The Social Performance Map and the launch event mark AED's continued efforts to leverage expand innovation and inclusion in the area of microfinance.

Learn more about FIELD and its activities.