Social Rating Department

MicroFinanza Rating established its internal Social Rating Department (SRD) in September 2006 after recognizing the increasing interest on social performance and necessity of investors, donors and practitioners to assess the achievement of the triple bottom line. From the very beginning MicroFinanza Rating is an active member of the Social Performance Task Force, launched by the CGAP, the Ford Foundation and Argidius Foundation in March 2005 with the aim of promoting social performance in microfinance. In 2007-2008 our SRD in collaboration with M-CRIL conducted pilot social ratings of nine MFIs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia within a Ford Foundation supported project. This project prompts MicroFinanza rating to be a pioneer in the development of Social Rating methodologies: its findings set the basis for benchmarking analyses and confirmed the added value of the comprehensive rating (including a survey of a clients' sample and focus group discussions).

In 2011 we took part to the technical committee of the SMART Campaign certification task force, playing a frontline role in the assessment of the consumer protection practices.

Over past years our SRD has published findings from social ratings. Download our latest publications below.

Currently we are the rating agency with the widest experience in providing Social Rating services, with 120 social ratings realized to date - 73 comprehensive and 47 standard. The experience, the participation in the international initiatives and the constant methodology update are our leverages to provide the best social rating service and contribute to the dissemination of SPM and consumer protection best practices.

Read more about our social products

Contact our Social Rating Director Lucia Spaggiari, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to have additional information.