The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of CGAP and the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

No abstract

This paper makes the case that when microfinance institutions exhibit strong financial performance, particularly if there is a well-planned social performance strategy in place, the results for social performance are also better. Studies have suggested this in the past but their conclusions were based on incomplete data. This analysis draws on 2006-2011 data taken from 344 evaluations of 295 MFIs in 51 countries that have a total outreach of more than 12 million borrowers. The conclusion is that the double bottom line is no 'mission impossible' but can be achieved when trade-offs and synergies are combined cleverly, following a well-planned social performance management strategy.

No abstract

No abstract

Français Historiquement, la microfinance a rencontré un succès réel comme outil d'inclusion des exclus du système bancaire classique. Dans les années 90, la marche vers la pérennisation des IMF (institutions de microfinance) a focalisé l'attention sur les questions de viabilités financière et institutionnelle. Des outils d'analyse financière ont ainsi été adaptés mais les performances sociales des IMF étaient considérées comme acquises. Pourtant, à l'heure actuelle, les bailleurs et les investisseurs éthiques demandent aux IMF de rendre des comptes : Quelle est la population réellement touchée? Comment peut-on combiner à la fois les objectifs sociaux et les objectifs de pérennité?, etc. Certaines IMF également ont l'intuition que renforcer les performances sociales peut conduire, sur le moyen terme, à renforcer leurs performances financières. L'article présente les enjeux de ces mesures, survole certaines des initiatives qui cherchent à identifier des indicateurs, avant de développer l'une d'entre elles, l'initiative sur les indicateurs de performance sociale (SPI). Cette dernière est destinée à pouvoir conduire un audit des performances sociales sur la base d'un questionnaire portant sur quatre dimensions : (1) le ciblage des pauvres et des exclus ; (2) l'adaptation des services et des produits à la clientèle cible ; (3) l'amélioration du capital social et politique des clients; (4) la responsabilité sociale de l'IMF.

[eng] Cécile Lapenu — Governance in micro-finance : Analytical scheme and research perspectives.. Today's micro-finance has to perpetuate its activity, notably by means of efficient governance. Bypassing a vision limited to the sole technical aspects and to the relationships between administrators and managers, the cerise committee bases itself on four case studies to propose an analysis of power relationships of the conditions of power-exercise and of the management of its dysfunctions, so as to determine how a micro-financial institution could forestall and overcome moments of crisis. The analysis demonstrates the necessity of an organisational basis that would be common to all forms of governance, and which efficiency would vary according to diverse factors.

No abstract