Sanabel's Transparency Unit was established in 2004. It aims at increasing the level of transparency in the Arab region as well as the frequency and scope of the data and information being reported.

Sanabel is seeking to promote microfinance best practices among stakeholders in Arab countries through transparency, standardization, peer learning and information exchange efforts.  To support this transparency initiative, Sanabel has built a partnership with the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX): www.themix.org The centerpiece of this collaboration is a performance information center for the region, which promotes adoption of global industry reporting norms, collects and disseminates information on the sector, builds institutional capacity to report according to standards and provides support to MFIs in integrating this information into the governance and management of their operations.

Transparency and Research Department’s Activities 
• Data collection
• Data preparation and standardization
• Creating and updating MIX Market profiles for Arab MFIs
• Data analysis and benchmarking
• Documentation, research, report-writing, and dissemination
• Training on benchmarking and transparency

Sanabel’s Transparency and Research Department collects financial data from over 65% of its members and is proud that an increasing number of members are included among the best MFIs in the world as ranked by organizations such as Forbes Magazine and the MIX Market. 

To read Benchmarking Reports, click here.