An important part of measuring the social impact we have in Guatemalan women’s lives comes from partnering with 60 Decibels—a global impact measurement company that is the producer of the world’s first microfinance impact benchmark. Based on phone interviews with 277 of our clients conducted this year, 60 Decibels’ trained researchers have compiled insights about our clients, the outcomes they experience, how satisfied they are, and how we can improve our impact and business performance.
The 2023 Microfinance Index Insights Report reveals that Friendship Bridge received a Top Impact Award for Latin America, ranking #2 in Latin America among all microfinance organizations surveyed in the region.
“We are proud that our clients’ evaluation of their experience in Friendship Bridge is overwhelmingly positive,” said Chief Strategy Officer Caitlin Scott. “It mirrors what we see in the field and it is so motivating to see it reflected in the data.”
In addition, we learned the following about the experience of our clients in six distinct dimensions of impact and what impact they attribute to Friendship Bridge:
- Access: 77% said it would be difficult to find a good alternative to Friendship Bridge (p.9), and 99% of clients use their loan for a business purpose. (p. 8)
- Business Impact: 93% of clients report the income they earn from their business has increased. (p. 11)
- Household Impact: 97% of clients report that their quality of life has improved (p. 13), with 74% reporting having improved food security and 76% reporting increase in expenditures on home improvements. (p. 14)
- Client protection: 87% “strongly agree” that Friendship Bridge fees, interest rates and penalties are easy to understand. (p. 16)
- Resilience: 64% of clients say their ability to face a major expense has improved (p. 19), and 87% say they have increased their savings. (p. 20)
- Agency: 95% of clients have a financial goal and 93% say their ability to achieve that goal has improved. 87% of clients report having improved self-confidence, and 79% say their ability to make decisions independently has improved. (p. 22-23)
Learn more about the dimensions of impact here: English / Spanish
Other exciting insights:
- Across the 21 indicators in the benchmark, Friendship Bridge is almost always ahead of the field. (p. 31)
- Longer-term clients report relatively more positive outcomes in business income, quality of life, home improvements, access to healthcare, ability to face an emergency, and their ability to support their children in school.
- Friendship Bridge is contributing to intergenerational change. (p. 25-26)
60 Decibels 2023 Impact Awards and performance rankings are based on the 60 Decibels 2023 Microfinance Index. Ranking is determined based on companies evaluated in Africa, Asia, Latin America and globally. For more information, visit 60decibels.com. 60 Decibels is a registered trademark of 60 Decibels, Inc.
