Consultative Group to Assist the Poor  (December 2008)
Established in 1995, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is a consortium of public and private agencies located in the World Bank with the mission of expanding access to financial services for the poor. During its third phase (2004–08), CGAP pursued five strategic priorities: (a) promoting institutional diversity, (b) promoting diverse financial services to a broad range of clients, (c) building financial market infrastructure, (d) fostering sound policy and legal frameworks, and (e) improving the effectiveness of microfinance funding. Its activities focused on providing advisory services, developing and setting standards, advancing knowledge, and training and capacity building. An external evaluation, conducted in 2006–07, concluded that CGAP is a powerful and pivotal force in the microfinance field, playing a critical role in helping to build inclusive financial systems. IEG’s Global Program Review (GPR) also found that CGAP has strong relevance and effective governance. CGAP’s achievements in terms of activities and outputs were also impressive during 2004–08, but there is little systematic evidence relating to its achievements at the outcome level, or their attribution to CGAP’s activities due to weaknesses in its monitoring and reporting system. Therefore, both the external evaluation and the GPR concluded that CGAP needs to do more with regard to measuring, monitoring, and evaluating its outcomes. CGAP’s Council of Governors has recently approved a new strategic plan for 2009–13, including improvements to its monitoring system. [BACK]