Microfinance Focus, September 8, 2011: MFTransparency and the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI) will launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ethiopia, on September 20. The ‘Transparent Pricing Initiative’ in Ethiopia is a client protection initiative during which MFTransparency will collect and publish pricing data for microfinance products offered in Ethiopia.

The launch will take place in conjunction with the 5th Annual African Microfinance Conference. Alexandra Fiorillo, MFTransparency COO, will make a presentation on pricing transparency and responsible pricing to a range of local industry stakeholders including microfinance institutions, regulators, funders and other support organizations.  Through this initiative, MFTransparency will facilitate discussion on issues related to social performance and pricing transparency as well as develop and disseminate educational materials for different microfinance stakeholder groups.

The Transparent Pricing Initiative is MFTransparency’s 17th country project in Africa. MFTransparency is a global initiative for transparent pricing in the microfinance industry. In each country included in its ‘Global Transparent Pricing Initiative’, MFTransparency collects data on the interest, fees and all charges on microfinance loan products in order to calculate the accurate, true price (Effective Interest Rate) on those loans. Its objective is to establish the industry standard for pricing disclosure and facilitate transparent communication between suppliers and consumers of microfinance products.