MicroVest is a private, for-profit SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. MicroVest was founded in 2003 with the mission to build financial markets that serve the poor. MicroVest seeks sustainable solutions to addressing the financial needs of the working poor through investment vehicles that deliver both financial and social returns to investors. MicroVest is owned by four nonprofits: Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA, Cordes Foundation and Seed Capital Development Fund (SCDF).
MicroVest believes that relevant social impact policies and metrics reflect the health of an institution. A commercially successful and sustainable institution will provide the greatest social good over the longest span of time. MicroVest assesses the social performance and lending practices of each institution as part of its due diligence and portfolio monitoring processes. The IRIS taxonomy provides us with an established framework for collecting appropriate metrics consistent with industry best practices.