CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "https://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>  <base href="."> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/> <meta name="keywords" content="Center for Financial Inclusion,ACCION International,microfinance,double-bottom line,inclusive finance,beyond codes,energy links,investment readiness"/> <meta name="title" content="Global Microscope"/> <meta name="author" content="Eric Zuehlke"/> <meta name="description" content="2015 Global Microscope Shows Progress in the Environment for Financial Inclusion in Most Countries Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and East and"/> <title>Global Microscope - Center for Financial Inclusion</title> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/publications-a-resources/browse-publications/534-global-microscope" /> <link href="../../templates/cfi/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../plugins/system/jceutilities/css/jceutilities-200.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../plugins/system/jceutilities/tmpl/standard/css/style.css" type="text/css"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="../../plugins/system/jceutilities/js/embed.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../../plugins/system/jceutilities/js/jquery-126.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../../plugins/system/jceutilities/js/jceutilities-200.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../../media/system/js/mootools.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../../media/system/js/caption.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var jcexhtmlembed=1;jQuery(document).ready(function(){jceutilities({'popup':{'legacy':0,'convert':0,'resize':1,'icons':1,'overlay':1,'overlayopacity':0.8,'overlaycolor':"#000000",'fadespeed':500,'scalespeed':500,'template':"standard",'templatecustom':"",'templatepath':"plugins/system/jceutilities/tmpl"},'tootlip':{'classname':"tooltip",'opacity':1,'speed':150,'position':"br",'offsets':"{'x': 16, 'y': 16}"},'imgpath':"plugins/system/jceutilities/img",'pngfix':0,'wmode':0});}); JXLang={INVALID_NAME_TXT:"Please enter a name.",INVALID_EMAIL_TXT:"Please enter a valid e-mail address.",INVALID_BODY_TXT:"Please enter your comment text.",BOLD:"Bold",ITALIC:"Italic",UNDERLINE:"Underline",STRIKETHROUGH:"Strikethrough",QUOTE:"Quote",IMAGE:"Image",ENTER_IMAGE:"Enter Image URL.",ENTER_LINK:"Enter Link URL.",LINK:"Link",LINK_TEXT:"Link Text",ENTER_LANG:"Enter the code language.",CODE:"Code"}; </script>   <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/system/css/reset.min.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/system/css/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.min.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/system/css/960.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/system/css/soapbox.min.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/system/css/soapboxTypography.min.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/cfi/css/style.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../templates/cfi/css/typography.css" type="text/css"/>   <link href="../../templates/cfi/favicon.ico" rel="icon"/> <link href="../../templates/cfi/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon"/> <link href="../../templates/cfi/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon"/>  <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="../../templates/system/js/sbx.script.js"></script>   <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push( ['_setAccount', 'UA-2739049-3'], ['_setSessionCookieTimeout', '3600000'], ['_setDomain', 'Center for Financial Inclusions'], ['_setCustomVar', 1, 'User Type', 'Anonymous', 2], ['_setCustomVar', 2, 'Username', 'Anonymous', 2], ['_trackPageview'] ); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'https://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); window.addEvent('domready', function() { if (_gaq) { $$('a').each(function(el) { el.addEvent('click', function() { var port = -1 == el.host.lastIndexOf(":") ? el.host.length : el.host.lastIndexOf(":"); var host = el.host.slice(0, port) if (el.protocol == 'mailto:') { var label = (el.title) ? el.title : el.href.replace(/mailto:/i, ''); _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Email', 'Contact', label]); } else if (host != document.location.host) { var label = (el.title) ? el.title : el.href; _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'External', 'Exit', label]); } var ext = el.pathname.substr(el.pathname.lastIndexOf(".")+1, el.pathname.length); var label = (el.title) ? el.title : el.pathname.replace(/^\//,''); if (ext.match(/(bmp|csv|doc|epg|gif|ico|jpg|odg|odp|ods|odt|pdf|png|ppt|swf|txt|xcf|zip|gz|tar|exe)/i)) { _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Download', ext, label]); } }.bind(this)); }); } }); window.addEvent('domready', function() { if(_gaq) { $$('a.modal').each(function(el) { el.addEvent('click', function() { var label = (el.title) ? el.title : el.pathname; _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Pop-Up', 'View', label]); }.bind(this)); }); } }); </script> </head> <body id="bd" class="ff-arial norightbtns "> <a name="Top" id="Top"></a> <div id="sbx-wrapper" class="fs3">  <div id="sbx-headerwrap"> <div id="sbx-header" class="clearfix"> <div id="logo"><a href="../../index_php" title="The Center for Financial Inclusion"><span>The Center for Financial Inclusion</span></a></div> <div id="sbx-mainnav" class="clearfix"><script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="../../templates/system/js/ja.cssmenu.js"></script> <ul class="menuhorz clearfix" id="ja-cssmenu"><li class=" havechild item4 first-item "> <a id="menu4" class="menu-item4" href="../../about" title="About the Center"> <span class="menu-title">About the Center</span> </a> <ul><li class=" havesubchild item5 first-item "> <a id="menu5" class="menu-item5" href="../../about" title="Who We Are"> <span class="menu-title">Who We Are</span> </a> </li><li class=" item37 "> <a id="menu37" class="menu-item37" href="../../about/advisory-council" title="Advisory Council"> <span class="menu-title">Advisory Council</span> </a> </li><li class=" item35 "> <a id="menu35" class="menu-item35" href="../../about/leadership-a-staff" title="Leadership & Staff"> <span class="menu-title">Leadership & Staff</span> </a> </li><li class=" item34 "> <a id="menu34" class="menu-item34" href="../../about/new" title="New & Noteworthy"> <span class="menu-title">New & Noteworthy</span> </a> </li><li class=" item42 "> <a id="menu42" class="menu-item42" href="../../about/media-room" title="Media Room"> <span class="menu-title">Media Room</span> </a> </li><li class=" item33 "> <a id="menu33" class="menu-item33" href="../../about/jobs" title="Jobs & Internships"> <span class="menu-title">Jobs & Internships</span> </a> </li><li class=" item66 "> <a id="menu66" class="menu-item66" href="https://cfi-blog.org/" title="CFI Blog" target="_blank"> <span class="menu-title">CFI Blog</span> </a> </li><li class=" item40 last-item "> <a id="menu40" class="menu-item40" href="../../about/contact" title="Contact Us"> <span class="menu-title">Contact Us</span> </a> </li></ul> </li><li class=" havechild item119 "> <a id="menu119" class="menu-item119" href="../../programs-a-projects" title="Programs & Projects"> <span class="menu-title">Programs & Projects</span> </a> <ul><li class=" havesubchild item8 first-item "> <a id="menu8" class="menu-item8" href="../../fi2020" title="Financial Inclusion 2020"> <span class="menu-title">Financial Inclusion 2020</span> </a> </li><li class=" item9 "> <a id="menu9" class="menu-item9" href="../../programs-a-projects/the-smart-campaign" title="The Smart Campaign"> <span class="menu-title">The Smart Campaign</span> </a> </li><li class=" havesubchild item175 "> <a id="menu175" class="menu-item175" href="../../programs-a-projects/abf" title="Africa Board Fellowship"> <span class="menu-title">Africa Board Fellowship</span> </a> </li><li class=" havesubchild item17 "> <a id="menu17" class="menu-item17" href="../../programs-a-projects/pwd" title="Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities"> <span class="menu-title">Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities</span> </a> </li><li class=" havesubchild item10 "> <a id="menu10" class="menu-item10" href="../../programs-a-projects/investing-in-inclusive-finance" title="Investing in Inclusive Finance"> <span class="menu-title">Investing in Inclusive Finance</span> </a> </li><li class=" item206 "> <a id="menu206" class="menu-item206" href="../../programs-a-projects/cfi-and-accion-research-fellows" title="CFI and Accion Research Fellows"> <span class="menu-title">CFI and Accion Research Fellows</span> </a> </li><li class=" havesubchild item15 last-item "> <a id="menu15" class="menu-item15" href="../../programs-a-projects/past-projects" title="Past Projects"> <span class="menu-title">Past Projects</span> </a> </li></ul> </li><li class=" havechild active item19 "> <a id="menu19" class="menu-item19 active" href="../../publications-a-resources" title="Publications & Resources"> <span class="menu-title">Publications & Resources</span> </a> <ul><li class=" item61 first-item "> <a id="menu61" class="menu-item61" href="../../publications-a-resources" title="Publications & Resources"> <span class="menu-title">Publications & Resources</span> </a> </li><li class=" active item27 "> <a id="menu27" class="menu-item27 active" href="../../publications-a-resources/browse-publications" title="Browse Publications"> <span class="menu-title">Browse Publications</span> </a> </li><li class=" item28 "> <a id="menu28" class="menu-item28" href="../../publications-a-resources/search-publications/search/summary" title="Search Publications"> <span class="menu-title">Search Publications</span> </a> </li><li class=" item31 "> <a id="menu31" class="menu-item31" href="../../publications-a-resources/client-protection-library" title="Client Protection Library"> <span class="menu-title">Client Protection Library</span> </a> </li><li class=" item215 last-item "> <a id="menu215" class="menu-item215" href="../../publications-a-resources/global-microscope" title="Global Microscope"> <span class="menu-title">Global Microscope</span> </a> </li></ul> </li><li class=" havechild item20 "> <a id="menu20" class="menu-item20" href="../../events-a-presentations" title="Events & Presentations"> <span class="menu-title">Events & Presentations</span> </a> <ul><li class=" item62 first-item "> <a id="menu62" class="menu-item62" href="../../events-a-presentations/events-a-presentations" title="Events & Presentations"> <span class="menu-title">Events & Presentations</span> </a> </li><li class=" item168 last-item "> <a id="menu168" class="menu-item168" href="../../events-a-presentations/cfi-videos" title="CFI Videos"> <span class="menu-title">CFI Videos</span> </a> </li></ul> </li><li class=" havechild item21 last-item "> <a id="menu21" class="menu-item21" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors" title="Collaborators & Sponsors"> <span class="menu-title">Collaborators & Sponsors</span> </a> <ul><li class=" item43 first-item "> <a id="menu43" class="menu-item43" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors/collaborators" title="Collaborators"> <span class="menu-title">Collaborators</span> </a> </li><li class=" item81 "> <a id="menu81" class="menu-item81" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors/microfinance-ceo-working-group" title="Microfinance CEO Working Group"> <span class="menu-title">Microfinance CEO Working Group</span> </a> </li><li class=" havesubchild item142 "> <a id="menu142" class="menu-item142" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors/harvard-business-school-accion" title="Harvard Business School/Accion"> <span class="menu-title">Harvard Business School/Accion</span> </a> </li><li class=" item44 "> <a id="menu44" class="menu-item44" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors/sponsors" title="Sponsors & Partners"> <span class="menu-title">Sponsors & Partners</span> </a> </li><li class=" item65 last-item "> <a id="menu65" class="menu-item65" href="../../collaborators-a-sponsors/virtual-volunteers" title="Virtual Volunteers"> <span class="menu-title">Virtual Volunteers</span> </a> </li></ul> </li></ul></div> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-socialBtns mod-global-1 mod-global-first" id="Mod58"> <div class="sbxMod-content"><a title="Blog" href="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.wordpress.com/feed/" target="_blank"><img src="../../templates/cfi/images/rss.png" alt=""/></a><a title="Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/#!/CFI_ACCION" target="_blank"><img src="../../storage/twitter_sm.png" alt="twitter_sm" width="20" height="20"/></a><a title="FaceBook" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-Financial-Inclusion-at-Accion/64252596426?notif_t=fbpage_admin" target="_blank"><img src="../../storage/facebook_sm.gif" alt="facebook_sm" width="20" height="20"/></a><a title="YouTube" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCFIchannel/videos"><img src="../../storage/youtube_sm.gif" alt="youtube_sm" width="22" height="22"/></a><a title="Flickr" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfi_accion/" target="_blank"><img src="../../storage/Flickr.png" alt="Flickr" width="20" height="20"/></a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/cfi-media" target="_blank"><img src="../../storage/soundcloud-icon-32x32.png" alt="soundcloud-icon-32x32" width="20" height="20"/></a></div> </div> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-search mod-global-2" id="Mod21"> <h3 class="sbxMod-title"><span>Search</span></h3> <div class="sbxMod-content"> <div class="mod mod-search clearfix"> <form action="/" method="post" id="form-modSearch" name="form-modSearch" class="jForm form-modSearch"> <input name="searchword" id="mod_search_searchword" maxlength="50" alt="Go" class="field text" type="text" size="50" value="" onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='';" onfocus="if(this.value=='') this.value='';"/><button type="submit" class="button" onclick="this.form.searchword.focus();"><span>Go</span></button> <input type="hidden" name="task" value="search"/> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search"/> <input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="55"/> </form> </div></div> </div> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-lm mod-global-3" id="Mod63"> <div class="sbxMod-content"><ul class="menu-lm"><li class=" item54 first-item "><a href="https://eepurl.com/DtOWr" target="_blank" class="mainlevel-lm" id="menulink_1-lm" title="Get CFI Updates"><span>Get CFI Updates</span></a></li><li class=" item169 last-item "><a href="../../cfi-videos" class="mainlevel-lm" id="menulink_2-lm" title="CFI Videos"><span>CFI Videos</span></a></li></ul></div> </div> </div> </div>   <div id="sbx-containerwrap-fr" class="cw"> <div id="sbx-containerwrap2">  <div id="sbx-container"> <div id="sbx-pathway">  <div class="mod mod-breadcrumbs mod-breadcrumbs-simple"> <span class="pathway"> <a href="/" class="pathway">Home</a> <img src="../../templates/cfi/images/arrow.png" alt=""/> <a href="../../publications-a-resources" class="pathway">Publications & Resources</a> <img src="../../templates/cfi/images/arrow.png" alt=""/> <a href="../../publications-a-resources/browse-publications" class="pathway">Browse Publications</a> <img src="../../templates/cfi/images/arrow.png" alt=""/> Global Microscope </span> </div>  </div> <div id="sbx-container2" class="clearfix"> <div id="sbx-leftCol"> <div id="sbx-leftCol-inner"> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-sm mod-left-1 mod-left-first" id="Mod45"> <div class="sbxMod-content"><ul class="menu"><li class="parent active item19 first-item last-item "><a href="../../publications-a-resources" class="mainlevel_active" id="menulink_1" title="Publications & Resources"><span>Publications & Resources</span></a><ul><li class=" item61 first-item "><a href="../../publications-a-resources" class="sublevel" id="menulink_1_1" title="Publications & Resources"><span>Publications & Resources</span></a></li><li class=" active item27 " id="current"><a href="../../publications-a-resources/browse-publications" class="sublevel_current" id="menulink_1_2" title="Browse Publications"><span>Browse Publications</span></a></li><li class=" item28 "><a href="../../publications-a-resources/search-publications/search/summary" class="sublevel" id="menulink_1_3" title="Search Publications"><span>Search Publications</span></a></li><li class=" item31 "><a href="../../publications-a-resources/client-protection-library" class="sublevel" id="menulink_1_4" title="Client Protection Library"><span>Client Protection Library</span></a></li><li class=" item215 last-item "><a href="../../publications-a-resources/global-microscope" class="sublevel" id="menulink_1_5" title="Global Microscope"><span>Global Microscope</span></a></li></ul></li></ul></div> </div> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-leftcolbutton mod-left-2" id="Mod76"> <div class="sbxMod-content"><a class="btn-leftcol" href="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span>Read Our Blog</span></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="clear"> </div> </div> <div id="sbx-mainbody-fr"> <div id="sbx-content"> <div id="page" class="com_content contentArticle article-layDefault "> <div class="article-title clearfix"> <h2 class="contentheading chBtns-none"> Global Microscope </h2> </div> <div class="page-content"> <div class="article-content"> <h4><em>2015 </em><em>Global Microscope</em> Shows Progress in the Environment for Financial Inclusion in Most Countries</h4> <p><em><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://bit.ly/1m06M8o"><img style="margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; float: left;" src="../../storage/images/Pubs_Pics/EIU_Microscope_2015.png" alt="EIU Microscope 2015" width="150" height="195"/></a>Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and East and South Asia have the most conducive environments for financial inclusion; India, Haiti, and Egypt are among the most improved countries this year.<br/></span></strong></em></p> <p>Access to affordable, diverse financial services is expanding and deepening in many parts of the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) <em>2015 Global Microscope on Financial Inclusion</em>. Two-thirds of the 55 countries studied have improved their enabling environment for financial inclusion in all areas in the past year. Peru, Colombia, and the Philippines remain at the forefront of the international country rankings.</p> <p>Developed by the EIU in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Fund (a member of the Inter- American Development Bank Group) and CAF—Development Bank of Latin America, and with additional financial and technical support from the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and the MetLife Foundation, the Microscope is intended to benchmark national progress on financial inclusion and catalyse reform. The Global Microscope 2015 assesses the regulatory ecosystem for financial inclusion by evaluating 12 indicators across a range of developing economies in East and South Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. This year's Microscope is the ninth edition of the study and the second that looks beyond microfinance, evaluating countries across the wider landscape of financial inclusion.<br/><br/><img style="margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; float: left;" src="../../storage/images/Pubs_Pics/2015_Microscope_Ranking.png" alt="2015 Microscope Ranking" width="200" height="238"/>Compared with last year, the index results show a number of improvements. The average score for the 55 countries has increased (from 46 points to 48 points, where 100 is best) and only one country in 2015 has a score that is 25 points or lower. Moreover, conditions globally have improved this year for ten of the 12 indicators covered in the index. These gains indicate that some very basic elements of policy essential to promoting financial inclusion are now widespread.<br/><br/>Consistent with last year's overall performance, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and East and South Asia tie for the highest overall scores regionally, with LAC countries capturing five of the global top ten countries by rank. Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa had very similar scores (one point difference), finishing third and fourth in regional rankings, respectively. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) posted the lowest overall score in the index.<br/><br/>The countries with the greatest increases in their overall scores this year are more likely to have a comprehensive strategy in place, or at least programmes and laws that tackle multiple, often interlinked, barriers to inclusion simultaneously. India recorded one of the biggest increases of any country in its score this year (10 points), which reflects in part a substantial drive to make banking more accessible to the entire population. This improved accessibility was accomplished through the introduction of guidelines for creating specialised Payment Banks and Small Finance Banks specifically aimed at the poor. Two other top gainers over the past year – Haiti and Egypt (each of which improved their scores by eight points) – implemented measures to establish an even broader set of financial inclusion mechanisms that include government support and regulation and supervision of credit.<br/><br/>Challenges in the financial inclusion environment remain. Many institutions, such as credit unions and co-operatives in LAC and Sub-Saharan Africa, are still not prudentially regulated. Although more countries are developing unique rules for insurance that specifically target low-income consumers (including microinsurance), many countries still regulate this type of insurance under broader policies that cover all insurance types. Finally, consumer protection remains a concern for many consumers of financial products: only eight of the 55 index countries provide a comprehensive framework and capacity to protect the financial consumer.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Download the<em> </em><a href="https://bit.ly/1m06M8o" target="_blank"><em>2015 Microscope </em>in English (PDF)  </a></strong></li> <li><strong><strong style="line-height: 1.4em; background-color: initial;">Download <a href="https://bit.ly/21BB55B" target="_blank">2015 Microscope Bibliography (PDF)</a></strong></strong></li> <li><strong>Download the<a href="https://bit.ly/1IIEy6V" target="_blank"> 2015 Microscope Benchmarking Model (Excel)</a></strong></li> </ul> <h2>Previous editions of the Global Microscope:</h2> <hr/> <h3>2014 Microscope</h3> <h4><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Revamped <em>2014 Global Microscope</em> Calls for Comprehensive Strategies for Financial Inclusion</span></strong></h4> <p><em><strong><a href="https://bit.ly/1s9k6T0"><img style="margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; float: left;" src="../../storage/images/Pubs_Pics/Screen_Shot_2014-11-06_at_9.00.30_AM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2014-11-06 at 9.00.30 AM" width="150" height="206"/></a>Peru, Colombia and the Philippines have the most conducive environments for financial inclusion; East & South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa posted the highest </strong></em><em><strong>scores for electronic payments</strong></em><br/><br/><em>The Global Microscope</em>, now in its eighth year, has expanded its framework to measure financial inclusion beyond microfinance. The <em>2014 Microscope</em> examines the inclusiveness of countries’ financial sectors by considering best practices in the national regulatory environment and institutional support in the safe provision of a wider range of financial products and services to low income populations.</p> <p>Developed by the EIU in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Fund (a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group) and CAF (the development bank of Latin America), and with additional support from the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and Citi Microfinance, the Global Microscope scores countries as a way of benchmarking their progress toward a financially inclusive environment for the bottom of the pyramid.</p> <p><br/>Regionally, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and East and South Asia tie for the highest overall scores in the Global Microscope 2014. LAC countries also captured half the slots in the global top ten. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region posted the lowest overall score. East and South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa tied for the highest regional scores in regulations for electronic payments, one of the new topics in this year’s Microscope. Countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have the electronic payments infrastructure to serve the bottom of the pyramid’s needs for financial services and Kenya and Tanzania have adopted regulations that are conducive to the growth of mobile payments.</p> <p><img class="img-left" src="../../storage/Microscope_Ranking.png" alt="Microscope Ranking" width="200" height="238"/>Despite the change in methodology, Peru held the top position in the <em>Global Microscope 2014</em> for the seventh consecutive year, followed closely by Colombia and the Philippines. Both South American countries showed strength across the board, ranking in the top five in most of the indicators. Colombia and Peru are global leaders in prudential regulation and rules for deposit-taking, and have strong records in micro-loans and provision of savings products to the poor.<br/><br/>The study found that most of the countries that fared well in the previous index also achieved good scores in the new <em>Microscope.</em> In fact, six of the top ten countries from last year’s <em>Microscope</em> are among the best performers this year (Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Peru, Pakistan, and Philippines). The study revealed that countries with enabling environments for microfinance tend to have favourable conditions for financial inclusion.<br/><br/>At the other end of the spectrum, countries at the bottom of the index performed especially poorly on measures of institutional support for financial inclusion. The institutional architecture for financial inclusion is covered through such indicators as government support for financial inclusion, credit reporting systems, market conduct rules, and grievance redress and availability of dispute resolution mechanisms. Countries near the bottom of the index struggle in all of these areas. These results highlight two important needs: first, to make a serious national commitment to financial inclusion and, second, to enact regulations that will build a healthy ecosystem for financial inclusion. <br/><br/></p> <ul> <li style="background-image: url('https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/images/bullet.gif');"><strong>Download the<em> </em><a href="https://bit.ly/1s9k6T0"><em>2014 Microscope </em>in English (PDF)</a>  </strong></li> <li style="background-image: url('https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/images/bullet.gif');"><strong>Download the<em> </em><a href="https://bit.ly/1x6XJFG"><em>2014 Microscope </em>in Spanish (PDF)  </a></strong></li> <li style="background-image: url('https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/images/bullet.gif');"><strong>Download <a href="https://bit.ly/1BGXpfJ">2014 Microscope Key Messages (PDF)</a></strong></li> <li style="background-image: url('https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/images/bullet.gif');"><strong><strong>Download the<a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/2014_microscope_final.xlsm"> 2014 Microscope Model (Excel)</a></strong></strong></li> <li style="background-image: url('https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/images/bullet.gif');"></li> </ul> <hr/> <h3>2013 Microscope</h3> <h4>2013 Edition of the Global Microscope on Microfinance Highlights Progress in Credit Bureau Infrastructure, Client Protection and Mobile Banking</h4> <h4><em><img style="margin: 2px; float: left;" src="../../storage/2013_microscope.png" alt="2013_microscope" width="150" height="194"/></em></h4> <p><strong><em>Latin American and Caribbean countries dominate the top ten; most Asian countries experience significant improvements; Middle East and North African countries posted the lowest scores</em></strong></p> <p>The Microscope, now in its seventh year, examines countries’ microfinance sectors by considering the national regulatory environment and the corresponding institutional framework. Developed by the EIU in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Fund (a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group) and CAF (the development bank of Latin America), and with additional support from the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and Citi Microfinance, the Microscope scores countries as a way of benchmarking progress. Of the 55 countries studied in this year’s report, 30 improved their scores, 19 fell back and six were unchanged.</p> <p>Most of this year’s improvements occurred in the Supporting Institutional Framework for microfinance, while scores for Regulatory Framework and Practices mostly declined. The growth of credit bureaus, increased client protection activities, and the expansion of mobile banking drove the improvements, with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pakistan joining the top performers in this category. Even so, one-fifth of the countries in the study still do not have a functioning credit bureau.</p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) once again had the highest overall regional score in the 2013 Global Microscope. LAC countries also captured half the slots in the global top ten. Asian countries experienced significant improvements in overall rankings because of changes in their institutional frameworks, led by better dispute resolution systems and improved credit bureaus. Although the four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) showed slight improvements from the year before, the region still posted the lowest overall score. </span></p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Country highlights:</span></p> <ul> <li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">New to the top ten are the Dominican Republic and Uganda, while Nicaragua breaks into the top 15.</span></li> <li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Improvements in credit bureaus contributed to Cambodia’s continued rise. After entering the top ten last year, Cambodia jumped two more spots this year to number six, just behind Kenya.</span></li> <li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">India rose to 16th from 22th. Except for the State of Andhra Pradesh (AP), the country has overcome the effects of the October 2010 microfinance crisis. Indian MFIs have also made significant progress in establishing proper grievance-redress systems.</span></li> <li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ecuador, Mexico and the Kyrgyz Republic all faced challenging microfinance environments in 2013. Ecuador’s NGOs operating in micro-credit face more operational obstacles, while Mexico’s financial supervisor faced difficulties bringing some types of deposit-taking institutions under its supervision. The Kyrgyz Republic fell significantly in the rankings because of the imposition of interest rates caps and disruptions to the dispute resolution mechanisms. </span></li> </ul> <p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The 2013 Global Microscope used the same set of indicators and methodology as the 2012 study. This year, however, the EIU increased consultations with microfinance institutions, networks, regulators, consultants and investors to gather additional insights.</span></p> <ul> <li>Download the 2013 Global Microscope (PDF):<a href="https://bit.ly/15RIxQo" target="_blank"> English</a>, <a href="https://bit.ly/19vD7W7" target="_blank">Spanish</a></li> <li><a href="https://bit.ly/19vD7W7" target="_blank"></a>Press Release: <a href="https://www.fomin.org/mif/HOME/News/PressReleases/tabid/467/ArtMID/3819/ArticleID/873/language/en-US/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Global Microscope 2013: Continued growth and remarkable innovation in financial markets for low-income populations</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fomin.org/file.aspx?DOCNUM=38098160">Download the 2013 Microscope scorecard</a></li> </ul> <div style="width: 604px; height: 22px; padding: 0px 10px 0px 0px; color: black; font: normal 8pt verdana,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;"> <div style="float: right; padding-right: 8px;"><a href="https://www.tableausoftware.com/public/about-tableau-products?ref=https://public.tableausoftware.com/shared/PDF6B8KFP" target="_blank">Learn About Tableau</a></div> </div> </div> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>   <div id="sbx-footerwrap"> <div id="sbx-footer" class="clearfix"> <div id="sbx-footnav" class="clearfix"> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-fm mod-botnav-1 mod-botnav-first" id="Mod33"> <div class="sbxMod-content"><ul class="menu-fm"><li class=" item56 first-item "><a href="../../home" class="mainlevel-fm" id="menulink_1-fm" title="Home"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class=" item57 "><a href="../../about/contact" class="mainlevel-fm" id="menulink_2-fm" title="Contact"><span>Contact</span></a></li><li class=" item58 "><a href="mailto: nkennedy@accion.org" class="mainlevel-fm" id="menulink_3-fm" title="Website Feedback"><span>Website Feedback</span></a></li><li class=" item59 last-item "><a href="../../privacy-policy" class="mainlevel-fm" id="menulink_4-fm" title="Privacy Policy"><span>Privacy Policy</span></a></li></ul></div> </div> <div class="sbxMod sbxModTable-footer mod-botnav-2 mod-botnav-last" id="Mod64"> <div class="sbxMod-content">©2015  <a href="https://www.accion.org/" target="_blank"><img src="../../templates/cfi/images/accion.png" alt=""/></a>  All Rights Reserved</div> </div> </div> <a id="npsb" href="https://www.nonprofitsoapbox.com/" target="_blank" style="float:right;"><img src="../../templates/cfi/images/poweredbyNPSBX.png"/></a> </div> </div>  </div> </body> </html>