ABSTRACT
Investors in financial markets go for a return, whether that is a capital gain or dividends or interest; the benefit is financial, and the investee just has to produce a reasonable return on investment. This is not so in microfinance (MFIs). It is true that MFIs generate profits or incur losses. Commercially oriented investors will approach MFIs exclusively from an angle of profitability, just as social investors will be primarily guided by their impact on the poor –often disregarding the other dimension. Two-thirds of private investor (MIV) investment goes to MFIs in Eastern Europe/Central Asia and Latin America/Caribbean. MIVs themselves have become the focus of interest with regard to their – indirect – social performance. In 2016, the University of Zurich's Centre for Microfinance presented a methodology to measure the social performance of Microfinance Investment Vehicles.
