Since 2003, FINCA International has been a pioneer in its commitment to the promotion of social performance initiatives, including our engagement with the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF). We also report on our social and financial performance to the MIX Market.

FINCA International is recognized as a pioneer for its commitment to rigorous customer research, sharing results and best practices across multiple microfinance forums around the world. In 2002 Dr. John K. Hatch, Founder, co-launched a small brainstorming group committed to building industry consensus around a set of common indicators to measure social performance. This group, which evolved into the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) in 2005, now consists of over 350 leaders and stakeholders in microfinance around the globe, and has been charged with clearly defining, measuring and managing social performance. FINCA continues to actively participate in the Task Force.

FINCA’s vision of social performance now extends far beyond the collection of cross-sectional data. Going forward, FINCA will seek to build on the current foundation to better understand our clients and act on the basis of our understanding to realize five fundamental objectives:

1. Better identify clients who can sustainably benefit from the services we provide;
2. Target those clients who are most likely to benefit using appropriate education and marketing materials;
3. Listen to those targeted clients in order to develop sustainable products that will have a positive impact on their lives;
4. Assess the real effect of microloans on clients;
5. Create a positive feedback loop with respect to product development and client selection that fuels the double bottom lines of social performance and sustainability.

To achieve this, we are exploring the collection of panel data, allowing FINCA to assess the effects that our programs have on clients by comparing their standard of living (poverty level, etc.) over time. The analysis of longitudinal data significantly reduces distortions produced by country-level economic indicators such as inflation or drought and helps FINCA to determine the real change in economic well-being over the clients’ time with FINCA.

In addition to institutionalizing the customer relationship data collection and research function within our Affiliates, we plan to integrate our social and financial data to better enable FINCA to track and study client information at the individual client, branch, Affiliate, and aggregate network level. By analyzing client outreach, performance, and change in such a systematic manner, FINCA aims to go above and beyond our social performance objectives.