- Microfinance Information Exchange
-
Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc.
(MIX)
Logo of Mix Market
Founded June 2002 Location Washington, DC, United States Key people Marten Leijon
(Executive Director)
Blaine Stephens
(Chief Operating Officer and Director of Analysis)Area served Worldwide Products Financial Services
MicrofinanceFocus Economic Development Website http://www.themix.org
http://www.mixmarket.orgMicrofinance Information Exchange, Inc. (commonly known by its acronym MIX) is a non-profit organization that acts as a business information provider in the microfinance sector. Founded by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CGAP, Citi Foundation, Deutsche Bank Foundation, IFAD, and Omidyar Network, MIX is headquartered in Washington DC, and has regional offices in Peru, Morocco, and India.[1]
Contents
Business Information Provider
MIX collects and validates financial and social performance data from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in addition to business information from networks and service providers, and funders and investors. This data is then standardized and provided to the public through MIX Market and a variety of publications like the MicroBanking Bulletin, and reports and analysis on regional and country level microfinance sectors. In providing objective data and analysis on microfinance providers, MIX hopes to promote financial transparency in the industry, build the information infrastructure in developing countries, and offer those involved in microfinance (practitioners, funders, policy makers, academia) a way to gain a better understanding of MFI operations, challenges, and performance trends.
Products
MIX Market
MIX Market appearance as of July 2010MIX Market is MIX’s platform for delivering microfinance information. Described as the “microfinance information clearinghouse,” MIX Market provides online data on over 1800 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and 100 investors.[2]
MIX Market Statistics – As of July 20, 2010, 1,834 MFIs were reporting data to MIX. Those MFIs total $43.8 billion USD in gross loan portfolio, $23.7 billion USD in deposits, 81.4 million borrowers, and 593.1 in average loan balance per borrower.[3]
Data Collection and Analysis - After receiving self-reported data from MFIs, MIX analysts “review the data, ensuring there are no outliers and extremes. [They] double check against source documents such as audits and ratings, and standardize [the data] according to internationally accepted accounting standards and to provide for a more useful intra-regional comparison.”[4]
Data Products - The main data products of the MIX Market include MFI Profiles (including Financial Indicators, Trends, and Benchmarks), Country-level and Regional profiles, Funding Structure Data, and Social Performance Reports.
- MFI profiles – The most basic medium through which data can be accessed on MIX Market is through individual MIX Market MFI profiles which provide financial, operational, and social performance data as well as relevant documents, such as audits. With this data, users can view and compare performance data of several MFIs (by countries, indicators, and trends), create customizable performance and trend reports, and create benchmarks to view aggregated data in median values.
- Country-level and Regional Profiles – These options permit a wider perspective on MFI performance data, allowing users to view information on a country-level scale or a regional scale. MIX Market currently has country profiles for 115 countries divided into six regions: Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Latin America and The Caribbean (LAC), East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), and South Asia (SA).
- Funding Structure Data – Launched in June 2010, MIX Market’s Funding Structure Data provides information on debt financing sources for microfinance institutions. The Funding Structure Data cover over 15 billion USD of outstanding debt, ranging from local to foreign, public and private funding sources, and covering 86 countries and 890 MFIs, representing over 90% of all borrowers.[5] The database allows users to aggregate data by country, funder type, and other variables.
- Social Performance Reports – MIX Market offers Social Performance Reports for those MFIs who elect to report on 22 social performance indicators, which “assess how an MFI aligns its systems to its mission and how it uses social performance information to reach its social goals.”[6] Social Performance Reporting has become a salient topic in the industry, with MFIs being increasingly held accountable both for financial and social performance. The issue has received growing attention as the social impact of microcredit has become widely debated in development circles. Additionally, MIX manages the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF)-sponsored Social Performance Indicators Blog, which a medium for learning and exchange on topics related to social performance in microfinance.[7]
MIX Market Profiles – Alongside their widely acknowledged data provision, MIX Market creates a forum for the dissemination of business information via profiles for individual actors within microfinance sectors around the world. MFIs, funders (public and private funds that invest in microfinance), MFI networks, and microfinance service providers (academic institutions, fund managers, development programs, peer-to-peer lenders, private corporations, raters/external evaluators, advisory firms, and governmental and regulatory agencies) can create and update these profiles with their most recent business information (including company overview, website and other contact information, and products) as well as financial and operational data and documentation.
Publications
The semiannual MicroBanking Bulletin publishes financial and portfolio data provided voluntarily by MFIs and organized by peer groups. It includes peer reviewed articles from microfinance practitioners and academics on topics related to transparency and benchmarking.
Regional Analysis, Benchmarking, and Trend Reports are published yearly after the end of the data collection and provide industry analysis including updates on broad economic, legal, and performance developments. These reports include regional benchmarks for financial and operational indicators for the upcoming year and provide a means by which to continually evaluate MFI performance.
Data briefs draw on MIX Market datasets to provide empirical and theoretical analysis on broader topics within the microfinance industry.
See also
References
- ^ "About". themix.org. http://www.themix.org/about. Retrieved July 15, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to Share Data With $187,000 Grant From Rockefeller Foundation". MicroCapital.org. June 30, 2010. http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-information-exchange-mix-and-global-impact-investing-network-giin-to-share-data-with-187000-grant-from-rockefeller-foundation/. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Mix Market". mixmarket.org. http://www.mixmarket.org. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ "About MIX Market". mixmarket.org. http://www.mixmarket.org/about. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "MIX Feature: Funding Structure Data". themix.org. http://www.themix.org/mix-e-newsletter/mix-features/FSDB-email-EN. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ^ "Social Performance Indicators". sptf.info. http://www.sptf.info/page/social-performance-indicators. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ "SP Blog Highlights". themix.org. http://www.themix.org/reporting-frameworks/sp-blog-highlights. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
External links
Categories:- Microfinance organizations
- Non-profit organizations based in the United States
- Organizations established in 2002
- Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
