Young organizations can institute best practices from the start. Implementation of these practices will enable young organizations to move toward self-sufficiency. MicroStart's principles of operation are methodology neutral. World-wide, microfinance institutions have been successful in reaching the very poor by lending to solidarity groups, through village or community banks and directly to individuals. Critical initial support to launch this global pilot came from the Finnish Government and UNDP's global resources.
Collaborative efforts are underway with other bilateral and multilateral agencies.
During 1999, the SUM joint directorship developed a proposal to formalize this arrangement, and this was endorsed by the UNDP Administrator on 15 September 1999. SUM's chosen niche is distinct from, and complements that of other donors. Many donors target their investments in more advanced, lower risk organizations that have already developed an institutional capacity to reach scale and have reached, or are on the verge of reaching, operational self-sufficiency. It is here that donor and private capital allows organizations to expand scale and depth of outreach, while reaching higher levels of self-sufficiency. This mid-term evaluation will serve as both the basis for reorienting current programmes and the foundation for all new programming.