Micro-Credit Ratings International Ltd. (M-CRIL) is a specialized rating and microfinance research agency that has pioneered and successfully introduced the rating of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Asia. M-CRIL is a world leader in the field of microfinance rating and is dedicated to bridging the information gap between MFIs and the formal financial sector in the Asian region.
Started in 1998, M-CRIL's activities are based on the belief that with a greater flow of reliable information between the microfinance and the formal financial sectors, MFIs would be better placed to access wholesale/bulk finance for on-lending to low income households. In line with this mission, M-CRIL undertakes ratings (creditworthiness and organizational assessments) and also proprietary sectoral research to enable its clients to set professional benchmarks and standards as well as to design programs that helps deepen the rural financial markets. Therefore, M-CRIL sees itself as an important component in the mainstreaming of microfinance and, more widely, in improving the provision of financial services to low income clients.
M-CRIL has an international client profile having undertaken ratings in 16 countries in the Asia/East Europe region - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan as well as India. Over 400 ratings undertaken by M-CRIL have been paid for by some of the world's leading microfinance funding organizations including CGAP, Hivos, UNDP, SDC, DFID, Ford Foundation. In India, M-CRIL is the main assessment agency used by the SIDBI Foundation for Micro-Credit (SFMC) to contribute to its appraisal process. M-CRIL's ratings have also been used by the leading commercial banks in the region for appraising MFI loan requests. |
