The Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University and the Microfinance Information eXchange are working together to develop a country risk assessment framework for foreign direct investors interested in investing in microfinance institutions.

Students from the policy workshop, "Assessing Country Risk for Microfinance", will work on exploring conventionnal country risk measures and indices and their relevance to microfinance. They will also travel to India, Ghana and Peru to interview local institutions involved in microfinance who are familiar with macro-political and economic risk issues. The teams, which will deploy from October 22 to October 30, 2004, will also review incentives and disincentives for MFIs to disclose their performance information.

Full reports will be presented in December and the Country Risk Assessment Framework will go on-line in early 2005.