World’s First Microfinance Index Report shows Friendship Bridge Ranks #3 MFI in Latin America

Friendship Bridge is proud to be included in the world’s first microfinance social performance index, based directly on client interviews and customer outcomes. The newly released report, conducted by 60 Decibels, was developed in order to set a benchmark for what good, better, and best performance looks like within microfinance institutions*. Did our clients’ lives actually improve because of their involvement with Friendship Bridge, and in what ways? And, how does our performance compare to other organizations?

The benchmark is made up of responses from clients in five dimensions: business impact, household impact, access, financial management, and resilience. Here’s how Friendship Bridge performed when 17,956 clients were surveyed from 72 microfinance institutions in 41 countries.

• Earned a 3rd place ranking among Latin American and Caribbean countries
• Ranked 16th overall among clients from 72 organizations surveyed
• Performed in the top 20% in the ‘Business Impact’ and ‘Household Impact’ dimensions

Friendship Bridge is a top performer specifically in:

• % of clients who say they do not have access to a good alternative, which in a competitive market like Guatemala, this sets FB apart from other providers
• % of clients seeing ‘very much increased’ improvement in income [because of Friendship Bridge]
• % clients increasing number of paid employees [because of Friendship Bridge]
• % of clients ‘very much increased’ number of quality meals [because of Friendship Bridge]
• % clients ‘very much improved’ ability to manage finances [because of Friendship Bridge]

We invite you to read the report to see Friendship Bridge’s ranking against other MFIs globally.

* Microfinance institutions participating in the Index attend diverse segments with a variety of financial products, including savings, housing loans, and insurance in addition to working capital and other types of loans.