What Social Performance Task Force does

Cerise+SPTF is a non-profit membership organization and joint initiative of three legally separate entities—SPTF | US, SPTF | Europe, and Cerise (France)—that operate under a Memorandum of Understanding to advance social and environmental performance management in inclusive finance. Its signature product is the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management, first published in 2012 and now in its third edition, which translates high-level principles into concrete, operational practices for financial service providers managing social and environmental outcomes. The standards are complemented by a technology stack including the SPI (Social Performance Indicators) audit tool, which has generated more than 4,000 social audits to date, the ALINUS benchmarking and portfolio-analysis tool, and the Client Protection Pathway, a three-step roadmap with self-assessments, audits, and third-party validation. Supporting services—e-learning courses, webinars, the Learning Series video library, and the Professionals Network—are delivered in English, French, and Spanish across the SPI Online platform.

The organization serves three primary constituencies: financial service providers (microfinance institutions, banks) implementing the Universal Standards to demonstrate accountability to their social mission; donors and impact investors conducting due diligence and portfolio analysis on investees; and policymakers and regulators in weak-infrastructure markets that have used the Universal Standards as a regulatory blueprint, notably in the Philippines. Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining membership fees (subscription), donor-funded technical assistance grants channeled through the regional Responsible Inclusive Finance Facilities (RIFF-SSA, RIFF-SEA, RIFF-CAC), and professional advisory services. Distribution is multi-channel: community-led engagement through working groups and webinars, event-driven outreach anchored by the annual Global Meeting, direct advisory delivery through the Professionals Network, and self-serve access via SPI Online. Named stakeholders include Small Enterprise Foundation, Incofin, the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, and the Nordic Microfinance Initiative.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 11–50 employees and operating geographies spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia Pacific, Cerise+SPTF functions as a global standards body with regulatory influence and a recognized proprietary data asset in social performance measurement. The organization has recently expanded into the agriculture and food sector through the Responsible Agriculture and Food (RAF) Project and into SDG-linked outcomes measurement through the Sustainable Outcomes Management (SOM) Project.

Name

Social Performance Task Force

Legal name

Cerise+SPTF

Website

https://sptf.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cerise+SPTF is a non-profit membership organization that develops the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management and related audit and benchmarking tools, serving financial service providers, impact investors, and regulators in global inclusive finance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Inclusive Finance Standards and Social Performance Management

NAICS

Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (522390)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG Reporting, Disclosure & Regulatory Compliance (SFDR, EU Taxonomy, TCFD/ISSB) (FSAAALAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

SME, Microfinance & Financial Inclusion Facilities (BPADACAI)

Keywords

• Inclusive finance standards
• Social performance management
• Environmental performance management
• Microfinance auditing
• Client protection pathway

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Cerise+SPTF operates as a membership organization with various membership tiers for financial service providers, investors, and other stakeholders in the inclusive finance sector.
2. Donor Funding and Grants: The organization receives co-financing and technical assistance funding from donors to deliver training and social performance management projects through the Responsible Inclusive Finance Facilities (RIFFs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America/Caribbean.
3. Technical Assistance Services: Provides advisory services and professional network consultations to financial institutions seeking to implement Universal Standards and improve social performance management.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cerise+SPTF develops and disseminates the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management, the SPI social audit tool, the Client Protection Pathway, and ALINUS benchmarking for financial service providers in inclusive finance. It complements these standards with social audits and assessments, data and benchmarking, technical assistance funding through regional RIFFs (Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America/Caribbean), working groups, and multilingual e-learning and webinars. The organization operates as a non-profit membership body serving microfinance institutions, banks, impact investors, and regulators.

Product overview

Cerise+SPTF is a joint initiative of SPTF | US, SPTF | Europe, and Cerise that offers a unified portfolio of standards, tools, and services for social and environmental performance management in inclusive finance. The core of the offering is the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management (first published 2012, now third edition), complemented by the Client Protection Pathway, SPI social audit tool (4,000+ audits conducted), and ALINUS benchmarking tool. Supporting services include social audits and assessments, regional RIFF co-financing programs (Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America/Caribbean), working groups on specialized topics, webinars/training sessions in multiple languages, e-learning courses, and the Learning Series for practical implementation guidance. The SOM Project provides outcomes measurement linked to Sustainable Development Goals through December 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management: Signature product of Cerise+SPTF, first published in 2012, now in its third edition, defining best practices for social and environmental performance management in inclusive finance.
• Client Protection Pathway
• SPI (Social Audit Tool)
• Responsible Inclusive Finance Facilities (RIFFs)

Products and services

• Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management
• SPI (Social Performance Indicators) Audit Tool
• Client Protection Pathway
• Responsible Inclusive Finance Facilities (RIFFs)
• Sustainable Outcomes Management (SOM) Project
• Advisory and Technical Assistance Services
• Working Groups

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000+ social audits completed using SPI tool
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026Partnership for the RAF Project (Responsible Agriculture and Food) webinar. CSAF partnered with Cerise+SPTF to present progress on the project including mapping of tools in the agriculture and food sector, updated tools and field-tested materials, and partner experiences.
• Incofin Investment ManagementmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026Risk, ESG and Impact Officer Ben Wallingford from Incofin spoke at the RAF Project webinar, contributing expertise on financing value chains and agricultural cooperatives. Incofin uses Universal Standards with investees.
• ADAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026SEPM Pro consultant for ADA contributed to the RAF Project webinar, providing expertise on financing value chains and agricultural cooperatives.
• IDH Farmfit FundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026Thomas Kockmeyer from IDH Farmfit Fund spoke at the RAF Project webinar, contributing expertise on impact investing for smallholder farming, agriculture, and microfinance.
• SPTF | UScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three founding entities of the Cerise+SPTF joint initiative. SPTF US remains a separate legal entity incorporated in the United States, operating under a Memorandum of Understanding with shared strategic plan and resources.
• SPTF | EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three founding entities of the Cerise+SPTF joint initiative. SPTF Europe remains a separate legal entity incorporated in Europe, operating under a Memorandum of Understanding with shared strategic plan and resources.
• CerisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three founding entities of the Cerise+SPTF joint initiative. Cerise remains a separate legal entity, operating under a Memorandum of Understanding with shared strategic plan and resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Social Value International: Social Value International promotes the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework and assurance methodology. Comparable as a practitioner standards body with assessment tools, training, and a global professional network in social impact measurement.
• Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): GIIN is a standards and network body for impact investors, paralleling Cerise+SPTF's role for inclusive finance providers. Both convene investors and investees around shared performance frameworks and produce benchmarking data that informs capital allocation.
• 60 Decibels: 60 Decibels (formerly built around MIX microfinance benchmarks) provides social performance measurement and customer-centric impact data for financial service providers. Directly comparable to Cerise+SPTF's benchmarking and audit services for inclusive finance.
• Impact Frontiers: Impact Frontiers (formerly the Impact Management Project) convenes investors on impact measurement and management frameworks. Comparable to Cerise+SPTF's working groups and standards-setting activity in the impact-investing ecosystem.
• B Lab: B Lab operates the B Corp certification, a social and environmental performance standard backed by assessment tools and a community of certified companies. Comparable to Cerise+SPTF's Universal Standards and SPI audit combination across a different constituency.
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): PRI is a UN-supported network promoting responsible investment principles among financial institutions. It is comparable in serving as a voluntary principles body that signatories adopt, with reporting and assessment mechanisms analogous to Cerise+SPTF's standards and audits.

Broad incumbents

• CDP: CDP runs a global environmental disclosure platform used by investors, companies, and cities. Comparable to Cerise+SPTF in operating disclosure, benchmarking, and reporting infrastructure, but at far greater scale and focused on climate/environment.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): GRI is the dominant global sustainability reporting standard. It is much larger and broader in scope than Cerise+SPTF, but overlapping in providing sustainability/social performance disclosure frameworks adopted by regulators and companies worldwide.
• IFRS Foundation (ISSB): The ISSB within the IFRS Foundation sets global sustainability disclosure standards for capital markets. It is a broader incumbent establishing baseline ESG disclosure that competes for adoption with Cerise+SPTF's niche social/environmental standards for inclusive finance.

Others

• OECD Responsible Business Conduct: The OECD's Responsible Business Conduct work sets due diligence and conduct guidance referenced by regulators, investors, and companies. It is thematically adjacent, providing policy-level frameworks that overlap with Cerise+SPTF's client protection and social performance goals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SocialPerformanceTaskForce
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/social-performance-task-force
• Xx.com/SPTaskForce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Performance Task Force