Grameen Foundation India and M2I collaborate to fulfill growing demand for PPI ®

Grameen Foundation India and M2i Consulting have come together to implement the Progress out of Poverty Index® (PPI®). The PPI is a simple and accurate poverty measurement and management tool that enables pro-poor organizations to measure if they are reaching and helping the poor, and allows them to better determine their clients’ needs, effectiveness of programs, movement out of poverty, and identify indicators that makes the movement out of poverty faster. Poverty measurement is especially critical in the current microfinance environment, where concerns have been raised about the intent and focus of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to fight poverty.

Both Grameen Foundation India and M2i believe that MFIs as well as other development focused organizations need to track the movement of their clients out of poverty in order to fulfill their social mandates. M2i plans to integrate the PPI in its current set of offering that include Social Performance Management, Risk Management as well as Project planning and execution.

“We will not only help organizations to implement the PPI operationally, but will also help them to analyse PPI data, develop reports and use it in their decision-making process. We look forward to working closely with Grameen Foundation India to help MFIs become more client-centric and use a data driven approach to measuring social performance, through the use of tools such as the PPI”, said Deepak Alok, Partner at M2i.

"Grameen Foundation India is pleased to be working with a Technical Assistance provider like M2i, and welcome them as the latest service provider for the PPI. We believe that with its experience and professional team, M2i can help in promoting the use of PPI among MFIs and double bottom line, pro-poor organizations in India and abroad. With the growing demand for a data driven approach to social performance management, and the need for client centric products and services, the PPI with its client level measurement of poverty is a very effective tool that allows organisations to know their clients better and hence make a better impact." said Chandni Ohri, CEO at Grameen Foundation India.

Several stakeholders, including investors such as Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Dia-Vikas have integrated the PPI in their SPM initiatives and reporting. Over 16 MFIs in India are using the PPI for the purpose of poverty profiling of their clients and also to measure their movement out of poverty. Grameen Foundation India is also playing a leading role in creating an eco-system for poverty measurement and SPM through continuous dialogues with regulators, lenders, investors and MFIs. Grameen Foundation India is also working with service providers like EDA Rural Systems and Microsave to serve the growing demand for the PPI in the development sector and to promote the concept of data driven social performance management practices. The addition of M2i to this group of service providers will help fulfil the growing demand.

About Grameen Foundation India

Grameen Foundation India is a social business and a wholly owned subsidiary of Grameen Foundation USA (www.grameenfoundation.org) that catalyzes double bottom line approaches to serving the poor and the poorest. Grameen Foundation India’s objectives are to enable the growth of truly double bottom line entities that are client-centric, use quantitative and verifiable measures of social results and demonstrate new business models for serving the poorest. It currently focuses on enabling the provision of financial services and information to benefit the poor and the poorest and help their movement out of poverty.

About M2i

M2i Consulting provides high quality professional advisory services to the microfinance and microenterprises sector. M2i’s product portfolio includes Code of Conduct Assessment, Social Performance Management, Loan Portfolio Audit, market research and trainings. Clients of M2i include bilateral and multilateral funding agencies, banks, NGOs and MFIs. M2i has undertaken assignments in South Asia, Europe, South East Asia and Africa.

About PPI®

The Progress out of Poverty Index® (PPI®) is a country-specific assessment tool that helps institutions measure outreach to the poor, monitor changes in economic well-being of clients and provide data that helps managers improve the effectiveness of programs and services. The PPI was commissioned by Grameen Foundation in collaboration with Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), Ford Foundation and Microfinance Risk Management LLC. Launched in 2005, the PPI is now being used by 130 institutions worldwide. For more information, please visit progressoutofpoverty.org.