Leading Website on Microfinance Performance Partners with The MasterCard Foundation for Re-Launch

Next generation mixmarket.org features expanded data set

WASHINGTON, December 21 - The Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX) announced the re-launch
of MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org), the global platform for microfinance data,
analytics and business information. The website was redesigned and the
underlying database rebuilt to allow for the rapidly expanding network of
microfinance institutions and their broader array of products, services and
metrics. The new platform also provides increased functionality and tools for
all users. Importantly, MIX Market now includes the availability of all
content in English, Spanish, French and Russian, with Arabic content coming
online in early 2010.

"Thanks to our partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, we were able
to invest in a flexible and strong technology platform that will allow MIX
Market to evolve along with the microfinance industry. Now our users have
access to three times more microfinance data than was previously available,
with many new features that allow for improved analysis and customized
reporting," stated Marten Leijon, executive director of MIX.

Developed to help improve transparency in the rapidly growing but diverse
microfinance industry, MIX Market is an online marketplace for data,
analytics and benchmarks on the institutions that provide financial services
to the world's poor. The data base is the deepest in the industry, with
financial, operational and social performance data on more than 1400
microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the developing world.

"The MasterCard Foundation decided to collaborate on the MIX Market
rebuild because of its impact and importance in the microfinance sector. MIX
Market is a one of a kind service that provides microfinance institutions
with a platform to improve their transparency while marketing their
organizations to potential investors. In teaming up with MIX to rebuild the
site, The MasterCard Foundation seeks to ensure its continued use by all
actors in the microfinance sector," said David Myhre, Director of the
Microfinance Program at The MasterCard Foundation.

Maria Teresa Zappia, managing director, Investment Analysis, for Blue
Orchard S.A., a Swiss-based microfinance investment management company, said,
"MIX Market plays a critical role in the development of the microfinance
sector, and it is an important input for the team at Blue Orchard when
sourcing new MFIs for funding. The data and benchmarking features are
particularly useful as they allow us to really dig into the data and perform
our own analysis on a company-, regional-, and even industry-wide level."

"Built on the platform that The MasterCard Foundation helped establish,
and with the ongoing support of our core funders, our strategy calls for
continued development of MIX Market. Our users can expect to see new data
sets and functionality in the coming months. For example, in the first
quarter of the new year, we will add data on microfinance funding structures,
allowing our users to gain a better understanding of market trends, while
providing a tool for MFIs in seeking competitively priced funding," said
Marten Leijon.

About MIX

The Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX) is the leading provider
of data, analytics and business information for the microfinance sector.
Dedicated to strengthening the microfinance sector by promoting transparency,
MIX provides detailed financial, operational and social performance
information on those institutions that provide financial services to the
world's poor. MIX does this through a variety of publicly available
platforms, including MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org) and the MicroBanking
Bulletin.

MIX is a non-profit company founded by CGAP (the Consultative Group to
Assist the Poor) and sponsored by CGAP, the Citi Foundation, Deutsche Bank
Americas Foundation, Omidyar Network, IFAD (International Fund for
Agricultural Development), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others. MIX
is a private corporation. Visit www.themix.org for more information.

Elizabeth Downs, Director of Communications, +1-202-747-6228, edowns at themix.org