August 2010
A Visit with ESAF in Kerala, India Piloting the PPI Standards Certification Process
I arrive in Kerala in the middle of the monsoon, with days characterized by gray skies and consistent rain, heavy only at times, but invariably rainy. Kerala is situated on the country’s southwest coast. It has the highest literacy rates in the country, and while predominantly Muslim, holds the country’s largest Christian population. Kerala is a contradictory state. It produces one-third of the world’s tea and has an economy propped up by expatriate remittances from the Middle East, while also having approximately 90 percent of its indigenous population living below the national poverty line.
I am here to work with ESAF India, a microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Thrissur, Kerala, serving approximately 225,000 clients through 125 branches throughout India. ESAF India is the first MFI to pilot the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) certification process, applying standards recently developed by the Grameen Foundation Social Performance Management Center to validate the use of the PPI. The PPI is a tool developed by Grameen Foundation to measure poverty results, giving MFIs information that will allow them to ensure they are sticking to their social mission serving the poor and to develop products to meet the assortment of client needs. The standards are designed to help MFIs use the PPI correctly. They cover five areas of use:: intent, collection, process, training and reporting of poverty results.
Over the course of one week, I work closely with ESAF’s PPI Manager, Benita, and am privileged to have access to staff from the managing director to the loan officers, as well as to be introduced to several ESAF India clients. Based on my interactions, it seems to me that ESAF India is committed to meeting their clients’ needs and social goals. As the PPI contributes to both, they are in the process of implementing various processes and training to achieve best-in-class PPI use. Even more apparent is the confidence that microfinance loans and membership in a sangam has instilled in the clients. These women have gained not only financial benefits, but also greater independence, practice managing money and people, and, according to one loan officer, “social fearlessness.”
With the development of the new standards, Grameen Foundation is helping ESAF India, and all MFIs that go through the PPI certification process, to accurately measure poverty results and fulfill its social mission.
Jamie Dunchick is an associate at J.P. Morgan in New York. She traveled to India in July 2010 to work on the PPI Certification (Progress out of Poverty Index) pilot project with ESAF India in Thrissur, Kerala. Jamie's participation in this project is part of J.P. Morgan's partnership with Bankers without Borders as the program's presenting sponsor.
Notes From the Field: Americans Are Not All White?!
As the program officer responsible for PPI deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East North Africa, I have the opportunity to meet people from many countries and help them to understand social performance management better. I also have the opportunity to help reshape their perceptions of an American. When I first began working with our West African representative based in Senegal, we had many phone calls, but he never realized that I am a woman of Caribbean descent since I have no accent. The Internet connection was rarely strong enough for video chat so he didn’t realize I have skin the hue of many people in Senegal. In fact, he came to the airport looking for a white American woman – a fact he later shared with me and we had a good laugh about. I sound American but to many Africans I could be one of them…until I open my mouth. I am perhaps a paradox – a self-identified Caribbean-American woman with no Caribbean accent working in development; I suspect there are few who could fit this description.
Sharlene Brown is a Program Officer with the Grameen Foundation Social Performance Management Center, handling trainings for MFIs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle-East/North Africa. Sharlene is based out of Washington, DC.
PPI Standards of Use - What Are They Good For?
I think we can all agree that measuring the key metrics of our efforts helps us better accomplish our objectives. Well, what about assessing how well we are measuring those metrics?
I had the pleasure of discussing the release of a new set of PPI™ Standards of Use during the annual Social Performance Task Force meeting in Bern, Switzerland last month. To a certain degree, that was preaching to the choir. We had a tough time slot (after the last plenary of the day, at the same time as a cocktail party!), yet our meeting was very well attended by PPI users and supporters from all over the world. We had a great discussion, with lots of views heard. I’ve since heard overall very positive response to the establishment of PPI Standards. One PPI “super user” has already started planning to use the certification of its use of standards to help make decisions about how to support PPI users improve their integration of standards.
While the feedback was positive, the group had some question about the standards, and, even more so, about the certification process. Why hadn’t we told them before about the standards? What if organizations using the PPI were not ready to be certified?
With the official PPI Standards of Use press release going out today, I thought I’d address some of those concerns here and provide the space for a discussion. Please post any thoughts in the comments, and I’ll do my best to respond as appropriate.
One of the first issues seemed to me a natural confusion between the standards and the certification process. If, instead of the PPI, we think about learning French (which I’ve been trying to do ineffectually for the last two years…) the standard might be the ability to have a simple conversation at the market whereas the certification would be a test of those skills. We are thinking of these two things as obviously connected but still separate.
The standards are, well, just that - standards. We expect that PPI users as well as investors and donors who support PPI users will begin to think of the standards as minimum-use requirements. We’ll all be able to use the standards when training and planning PPI implementation plans. They’ll help new and experienced PPI users alike to identify areas for improvement. The standards are therefore a stand-alone resource. Of course, a related phase is to have some outside certification of the quality of PPI implementations. With the standards released, we are now in the process of piloting that certification process. After that pilot is completed, we’ll have better information about how much time is involved, any likely complications and other logistical concerns. Then we’ll open up the process to PPI users who want to volunteer to be certified. The certification will not be mandated. Or, I should say, it won’t be mandated by GF. I would guess that over time, as more and more PPI users are certified, there will be greater pressure to be certified. I think that is a positive long-term trend since it solidifies the value of PPI data for both management decision-making as well as for external reporting.
Look out for updates on the certification process and an opportunity for interested PPI users to sign up for certification. That’s coming later this fall.
We’ve enjoyed a significant amount of constructive feedback from our partners at all stages of PPI implementation. I hope you’ll continue to provide that feedback either directly or through this blog.
I’m really optimistic about this process as it should help at all stages of PPI implementation.
To view/download the standards go to: http://www.progressoutofpoverty.org/ppi-standards-use
To read the press release in English, French, and Spanish: http://bit.ly/PPI-standards
Jeff Toohig is the Deputy Director of the Grameen Foundation Social Performance Management Center. He is based in Washington, DC.
