The Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) evolved out of a USAID-funded project entitled “Developing Standards for Microfinance Project” (DSMP) that started in mid-1996 and continued until the end of 1999. The MFIs that were part of the DSMP decided to form an association or network and the resulting organization, MCPI, was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a non-stock corporation in June 1999. In 2004, MCPI merged with the Philippine Network for Helping the Hardcore Poor (PHILNET), a microfinance association focused on Grameen replicators in the Philippines. Since then, MCPI has grown to comprise 47 institutions, including 39 practitioners and 8 support institutions. It is estimated that MCPI members account for 60 percent of the total active outreach of the microfinance sector in the Philippines.