Social Performance Map

Publication Date: Apr 2008
Published by: Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network
Document Type: Other

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Why does microfinance need to focus on the triple bottom line?

This roadmap from the SEEP network states that MFIs are beginning to assess their social performance and move towards transparency and accountability through the development of social performance assessment (SPA) tools and the presence of industry actors who aid them in this process.

The map summarizes the social performance landscape both inside and outside the microfinance sector, including knowledge, experience, initiatives and tools. It discusses corporate social responsibility, the business case for social performance, socially responsible investing, and the relationship between microfinance and the environment.

The map places social performance within microfinance in the broader context of the social performance movement outside. It urges the microfinance sector to:

• Draw upon the wealth of experience, information, standards, frameworks and tools available;
• Focus on the triple bottom line of financial, social and environmental performance that the broader social performance framework endorses.