Strengthening MiDAS, the microfinance credit bureau of the Philippines

• Jul 29, 2025
• 1 min

MiDAS serves as the central data infrastructure for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Philippines, supporting them with credit data services and analytics tools. Despite its critical role, MiDAS faced strategic and operational challenges that limited its ability to scale and deliver secure, reliable, and data-driven solutions to MFIs. To strengthen MiDAS’s capabilities and enable it to serve as a trusted growth enabler for the microfinance sector, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) engaged MSC to conduct an institutional assessment.

MSC carried out a comprehensive Institutional Assessment (IA) of MiDAS across six thematic pillars: strategy and market positioning, technology and IT infrastructure, product and channels, people and capacity building, partnerships, external environment. Using a structured framework, MSC combined stakeholder interviews, process reviews, and system audits to evaluate MiDAS’s operational performance, product relevance, technical architecture, and organizational capacity. Particular focus was placed on assessing data security, subscriber engagement, and internal readiness to adopt improvements.

The assessment led to actionable recommendations that have positioned MiDAS for future growth. Key outcomes included:

• A roadmap to improve strategic planning and subscriber engagement through a revamped Technical Working Group (TWG)
• Enhanced usability of key products such as BARs/PODs and analytics tools
• IT infrastructure upgrades, including SQL server enhancements, encryption protocols, and data recovery systems
• Tools to reduce logical errors and automate data workflows
• Training modules for MiDAS subscribers on product usage and delivery processes

Asian Development Bank (ADB) commissioned the project.