About NMI

NMI Social Performance Management

What is Social Performance?

The effective translation of an institution's mission into practice in line with accepted social goals such as:

  • Serving increasing numbers of poorer and excluded people sustainably.

  • Improving the quality and appropriateness of financial services available to target clients through systematic assessment of their specific needs.

  • Creating benefits for clients of microfinance, their families and communities by:

    • Increasing social capital, assets and income
    • Increasing access to services
    • Reducing vulnerability
    • Fulfilling basic needs

  • Improving the social responsibility of the MFI towards it clients, its employees and the community it serves.

Why is Social Performance important?

  • Holistic assessment of the microfinance industry: Tracking financial indicators only provides a one-dimensional analysis of microfinance. Adding social indicators allows for a more holistic assessment of institutions

  • Provide evidence about MFIs performance in outreach to the poor: Many individuals, donors, foundations, and governments invest in microfinance with the belief that microfinance helps poor people.To be accountable to these investors, we must be able to report on how (or whether) microfinance helps poor people.

  • Give support to programs with a strong social focus: Investors use easily available information to decide where to invest.In most cases, this information is limited to financial indicators.MFIs with excellent social outcomes, but moderate financial returns do not receive the investments they may merit. Social performance rectifies this information imbalance so that MFIs with excellent social benefits receive support while they strive to increase financial returns at a more gradual rate.

  • Improve actual social performance: Greater focus on Social Performance Management (SPM) will result in reaching a larger number of poor people, in improving services to clients and in positively contributing to the welfare of the communities where MFIs operate.

Download a presentation setting forth NMI’s Approach to Social Performance. (PDF)