Investors in Microfinance Agree on Principles of Conduct

Making History: Investors in Microfinance Agree on Principles of Conduct

January 31, 2011 in Investing in Inclusive Finance


Last week witnessed a historic step forward for microfinance — perhaps not quite on the scale of Pocantico, but earth-shaking nonetheless.

Forty investors signed the new Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance, which were launched at the second annual Responsible Finance Forum in The Hague.

“Investors in microfinance can’t act like absentee landlords, enjoying the returns but not fixing the plumbing,” said one investor at the forum.

The initiative to develop these principles began with Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, in her role as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance, along with a group of Dutch investors.  This explains the preponderance of Dutch investors among the 40 initial signatories:  23 of the founding signers are from the Netherlands, eight from the United States, five from Switzerland, and one each from India, Germany, Belgium, and Norway.

Two levels of investors are participating: microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) that invest directly in microfinance institutions (Triodos, Oikocredit, and Calvert) and institutional investors that generally invest through MIVs (TIAA-CREF and a host of Dutch pension funds).

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