Inclusion [Social Ratings] released a newly assigned Social Performance & Impact Rating (SPIR) today on the Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Santa Anita (COAC Santa Anita), based in Cotacachi, Ecuador.
COAC Santa Anita’s Social Mission says “We are a Popular and Solidarity Savings and Credit Cooperative that offers quality financial products and services, aimed at the rural area of the Sierra Norte region of the Country, promoting economic growth, social development and financial inclusion of our members, customers and the community”. Santa Anita was founded in 2001 with the objective of supporting the development of the indigenous farming sectors of northern Ecuador.
Inclusion [Social Ratings] assigned COAC Santa Anita an SPIR rating grade of SPIR4+, following on-site due diligence of the organization’s operations and interviews with customers and staff. A SPIR4 rating indicates that an MFI’s infrastructure and processes show some adherence to operating in the best interests of its clients, and that this is among its priorities. An SPIR4 rating is consistent with an MFI that:
- adheres to good practice on some of the key SPIR factors;
- has weak information systems, internal controls and procedures relating to the information provided for the SPIR;
- maintains some standards in terms of customer protection.
The “+” appended to the SPIR4 reflects the most positive range of that rating category and places COAC Santa Anita in a good position for a possible upgrade in the short to medium term. Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s SPIR on COAC Santa Anita 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 recognized by the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) as a social rating agency and is committed to supporting 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.
If you need further information on these ratings or about Inclusion [Social Ratings]’s other social performance ratings, please contact Santiago Arnaudin at sarnaudin@inclusionsocialratings.org.
