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Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

Abstract

The importance of data interchange between commercial sources of capital and the microfinance sector is generally acknowledged, if not well detailed. But microfinance institutions (MFIs) and commercial sources of capital often need a different depth and breadth of information. As the industry grows and accesses more commercial capital, there is a need to enable standardized reporting from multiple MFIs to multiple sources of capital, rather than a proliferation of one-to-one reporting relationships. IT professionals and managers of microfinance institutions need to recognize this need and push vendors and industry associations to agree on specific standards of data elements, quality, and transmission protocols. This paper aims to provide the reader with a grasp of the issues involved and to recommend a sample set of data standards for MFIs to use in communicating with commercial sources of capital.

Biography

James Dailey is the Technical Project Manager for Innovations in Microfinance at the Grameen Technology Center, an initiative of GFUSA located in Seattle, WA.

Section

Articles

Journal Title

Journal of Microfinance

Issue and Volume

7-2

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