The CMA is an awkward amalgam of industry lobby group and regulatory watchdog.

Ample media reports have documented the dire state of Cambodia’s microfinance sector, so I needn’t go into too much detail. But read any news article about it and chances are the CMA will either be quoted or have provided data.

The CMA only produces PR material that celebrates and promotes the work of its key members and the donor groups…that finance them and partly own them. All very incestuous. Accordingly, whatever work the CMA produces is not a genuine study of the impact of their work; it is simply PR. Accordingly, because the CMA is a lobby group both the data and reporting of the activities of its leading members simply cannot be trusted to be fair and accurate.

This article was written by David Hutt

To read the full article, please click on the following link: https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/can-we-trust-the-cambodia-microfinance-association/