The Open Source Initiative Welcomes Mifos Initiative

Project focused on eliminating poverty shares vision of open source development for the good of the global community.

July 19, 2015 – PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Open Source Initiative® (OSI) this week welcomed The Mifos Initiative as the latest Affiliate Member to join the global non-profit focused on promoting and protecting open source software, development and communities.

The Mifos Initiative aims to create a world where each of the 2.5 billion poor and unbanked has access to the financial resources needed to create a better life for themselves and their family. The Mifos Initiative’s sole mission is to speed the elimination of poverty by coordinating a global community that builds, supports, and uses Mifos X, a free and open source platform that enables financial service providers to more effectively and efficiently deliver responsible financial services to the world’s 2.5 billion poor and unbanked.

“The Mifos Initative’s humanitarian applications for open source code are an exciting expression of the value of open source software” said Leslie Hawthorn, OSI Director. “We are delighted to welcome them as Affiliate Members, along with other recently joining humanitarian focused affiliate members such as the OpenMRS project.”

The Mifos Initiative believes in the Three Pillars of Sustainability: Environment, Society, and Economy, where education, health, and financial security form the base of these pillars. “Open source is the right tool to empower the people and create sustainability across the world and we are eager to support the OSI by its mission to maintain open source for the good of the community,” said Markus Geiß, Chief Architect at Mifos.

The OSI Affiliate Member Program, available at no-cost, allows non-profit and not-for-profit organizations—unequivocally independent groups with a clear commitment to open source—to join and support our mission to raise awareness and adoption of open source software and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open source community. Affiliate Members participate directly in the direction and development of the OSI through Board of Director elections as well as incubator projects and working groups that support the open source movement. OSI membership provides a forum where some of the world’s most successful open source software leaders, projects, businesses and communities engage through member-driven initiatives to, not only raise awareness and adoption of open source software, but also to extend and improve their own open source efforts through co-creation, collaboration and community. For more information about the OSI Affiliate Member Program and how your organization can join, see: http://opensource.org/affiliates.

About The Mifos Initiative
The Mifos Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Seattle, stewards the global community that builds the Mifos X platform – an open technology platform for financial inclusion used by financial services providers worldwide, supported by a network of local partners and maintained and extended by a global team of volunteers. For more information, visit: http://mifos.org.

About The Open Source Initiative
Founded in 1998, the Open Source Initiative (OSI) protects and promotes open source by providing a foundation for community success. It champions open source in society through education, infrastructure and collaboration. The OSI is a California public benefit corporation, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. For more information about the OSI, please visit: http://opensource.org.

Media Contact
Ed Schauweker
ed@agilepr.net