GOOD RETURN JOINS FORCES WITH THE SMART CAMPAIGNS

International not-for-profit organisation, Good Return, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the SMART Campaign – a global movement established to ensure protection for clients of microfinance institutions. Good Return is collaborating with the Smart Campaign to promote client-centred microfinance through supporting the adoption of the Client Protection Principles.

Good Return is currently in the process of conducting in-depth client protection assessments for several of its microfinance partner institutions across the Asia Pacific region, to ensure that they function as leading providers of responsible financial services.

The campaign, which endorses seven globally agreed client protection principles[1] including appropriate product design and delivery, prevention of over-indebtedness and business transparency, promotes a ‘best practices’ benchmark for microfinance institutions worldwide. Good Return is using each of these principles to produce a detailed report for its partners, highlighting current good practices and policies of each institution and providing recommendations for improvements as well as support where needed.

Good Return’s most recent assessment was conducted at Thaneakea Phum in Cambodia (TPC), its Cambodian microfinance partner. James Le Compte, Good Return’s Microfinance Institution Partnerships Manager, was on the ground in Cambodia throughout the assessment. He says of the experience: “Our partner, TPC, has demonstrated a firm commitment to providing responsible financial services to its clients, and we look forward to further strengthening their adoption of the Client Protection Principles.”