Inclusion [Social Ratings] today released a newly assigned Social Performance & Impact Rating (SPIR) on ASA Microfinance Tanzania Ltd., a microfinance institution that provides microfinance loans for business purpose to low-income entrepreneurs with the objective to improve financial inclusion and realize socioeconomic progress. They are indirectly wholly owned by ASA International, one of the largest microfinance companies in the world.
ASA Microfinance Tanzania Ltd.’s social mission is “To provide access to reliable and affordable financial services to millions of low income people, particularly women, in Tanzania.”
Inclusion [Social Ratings] assigned ASA Microfinance Tanzania Ltd. an SPIR rating grade of SPIR1-, following on-site due diligence of the organization’s operations and interviews with customers and staff. A SPIR1- rating indicates that an MFI’s infrastructure and processes are consistent with a high likelihood of operating in the best interests of its customers, that this is among its highest priorities and that the risk of causing adverse effect to its customers and other stakeholders is low. The “-” qualifier indicates that the MFI is at the lower level of that rating category.
An SPIR1- rating is consistent with an MFI that:
- has a highly coordinated and strategic operation in order to accomplish its social mission;
- adheres to best practice across all of the key SPIR factors and most of the sub-factors;
- demonstrates it has well-established and reliable information systems, internal controls and procedures relating to the information provided for the SPIR;
- maintains the highest standards in terms of client or beneficiary protection practices.
Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s SPIR on ASA Microfinance Tanzania Ltd. is based on Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s Social Performance Rating Methodology. An SPIR measures social performance on a fifteen-point scale, in which SPIR1+ is the highest grade and SPIR5-, the lowest.
About Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s Social Performance & Impact Ratings
Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s SPIR is an independent analysis of the operations of a microfinance institution that helps stakeholders better understand how effective it is at translating its social mission into practice.
Inclusion [Social Ratings] is a rating agency recognized by the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) and is committed to support the mission of the SPTF by engaging with microfinance stakeholders to develop, disseminate and promote standards and good practices for social performance management and reporting, and by offering its SPIR, a comprehensive, global standard to measure social performance.
A full Rating Report is also available for download from our website here.
