PPI Blog

stevewright's picture
Discover "A Secret Worth Learning" About Data and Financial Inclusion >
stevewright
• 03/01/12
• Posted in data analysis, ppi, social performance
• 0 Comments

In the recent New York Times article, "How Companies Learn your Secrets," Charles Duhigg discusses how companies can use demographics and data on personal consumption behavior to manipulate shopping habits and attract new customers. Target, for example, can predict if a customer is pregnant, what trimester she is in, and, with this information, target baby-related advertisements to her.

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stevewright's picture
Social Enterprise, A Disruptive Innovation >
stevewright
• 02/27/12
• Posted in double bottom-line, microfinance, real value, SKS, social investing, social performance
• 0 Comments

In 2010 SKS Microfinance went public with great excitement from the financial markets and a hail of criticism from some in the industry. The criticism centered around the idea that profit is NOT a proxy for success and an aggressive focus on growth is bad for the poor.

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stevewright's picture
When the Poor Need Information, Mobile Phones Can Be the Right Tool for the Job >
stevewright
• 02/16/12
• Posted in mobile phones, poorest, poverty
• 0 Comments

It is important that we take the lessons we have learned from micro-credit and apply them to any new poverty intervention.

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Lindsey Longendyke's picture
Two Acronyms Every Pro-Poor Business and Investor Should Know >
Lindsey Longendyke
• 02/15/12
• Posted in impact investing, IRIS, ppi
• 0 Comments

The worlds of social entrepreneurship and impact investing are widening as more people let their heart compete with their wallet in business decision-making. But success in these fields will require more than good intentions – players must stay smart with strong social performance metrics. This is challenging, of course, when social performance is still a subjective goal for many.

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admin's picture
Solèy at MCS: Fonkoze and the Seal of Excellence >
admin
• 11/28/11
• Posted in Fonkoze, MCS, ppi, Seal of Excellence
• 0 Comments

Solèy means sunshine in Haitian Creole. At the recent Microcredit Campaign Summit (MCS) in Valladolid, Spain, social performance in general (and the PPI specifically) were front and center, shining brightly. To that point, here is an excerpt from a blog post by Grameen Foundation President and CEO Alex Counts on the sunshine that the MCS directed to Haitian MFI Fonkoze and the Seal of Excellence.

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PreetiWali's picture
Keeping the Meaning in the Market >
PreetiWali
• 09/08/11
• 0 Comments

Our director, Steve Wright spoke at a plenary on 'Keeping the Meaning in the Market' at the SOCAP11 Conference organized by SOCAP this week in San Francisco. View the entire plenary discussion and let Steve know what you think - swright@grameenfoundation.org.

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PreetiWali's picture
NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Peer Learning Event in Manila >
PreetiWali
• 08/10/11
• Comments

MFIs and networks gathered together in Manila on July 28th for a Peer Learning Event on the use of the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI). It was an opportunity for 14 PPI users and supporters in the country, with a guest from the Vietnam Microfinance Working group, to share their experiences and learn from each other.

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yamini.avk's picture
Grameen Foundation and MicroSave Partner to Implement the PPI® in Asia >
yamini.avk
• 06/22/11
• Posted in India, MicroSave, ppi, training
• 0 Comments

Veena Yamini is a Senior Analyst at MicroSave.

The Grameen Foundation and MicroSave have joined together in Asia to implement the Progress out of Poverty Index® (PPI®), a social performance management (SPM) tool that enables pro-poor organizations to measure whether they are reaching and helping the poor, and better align their products and services to serve the needs of the poor. This is especially critical in the current microfinance environment, where there have been concerns that microfinance institutions (MFIs) are more focused on profits than fighting poverty.

 

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astiles's picture
A Great Investment of Time: Data Analysis Training in Ecuador >
astiles
• 05/24/11
• Posted in banco solidario, data analysis, Ecuador, ppi, training
• Comments

Recently, some of my colleagues and I had the opportunity to attend a two-day workshop to learn data analysis techniques for the Progress Out of Poverty Index® (PPI®), developed by the Grameen Foundation. At our MFI, the Banco Solidario – a regulated financial institution that operates nationwide in Ecuador – we started to use the PPI in 2009 to help monitor our social performance. Like many other MFIs, we made a commitment to poverty reduction in our mission statement. Over time, the PPI will help us to better understand the progress out of poverty amongst our clientele.

Given our experience with the PPI, the topic of the workshop piqued our interest. I had my doubts about the two day agenda at first. How could we possibly spend two days talking about data analysis? Since we had already implemented the PPI at my organization, I wasn´t sure how much was left to learn.

I couldn´t have been more mistaken. My colleagues and I all completed the workshop feeling like it was a great investment of our time. The PPI team at the Grameen Foundation has traveled around the world, observing and collecting best practices for PPI implementation. During the workshop our instructors presented a process based on their research on best practices for collecting and analyzing PPI data. We found the detailed, step-by-step explanation of each phase of the process extremely helpful...

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Awais's picture
PLAN Chakwal: Using the PPI Beyond Microfinance >
Awais
• 04/01/11
• Posted in Pakistan, Plan International, poverty, ppi
• 0 Comments

In the Punjab section of Pakistan, just south of Islamabad, is the district of Chakwal—a focal point for an innovative community development effort based on poverty measurement. Since May 2010, no fewer than 68 villages surrounding Chakwal have been participating in a new initiative to help the poorest among them. The program, Plan Chakwal, supported by microfinance network Plan International, has been leading the way in using the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) to guide its community development work.

Led by Shabbir Hussain, Plan Chakwal’s livelihood coordinator, and Aziz Malik, Plan’s community development facilitator, Plan Chakwal over a three-month period (June, July and August, 2010) collected 18,003 PPI scorecards from the 68 villages, using a census approach. Because these villages have local community base organizations (CBOs) to follow through with community development work, they were chosen for PPI data collection.

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