ACCION International, a nonprofit organization with partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in over 20 countries, has announced the inauguration of ACCION Microcredit China (AMC), an MFI located in Chifeng Prefecture, Inner Mongolia, China.The MFI began operations in December of 2009. Loan sizes for borrowers of the MFI begin at CNY 1,000, the equivalent of over USD 146. The amount with which AMC has been capitalized has not been announced. According to an ACCION press release, AMC is the first foreign-funded microcredit company in Inner Mongolia.

By Christopher Maggio, Research Assistant

Description:
ACCION International is a private, U.S.-based nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools necessary for poverty alleviation, such as microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services. ACCION was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION’s partner microfinance institutions today are providing loans as low as USD 50 to poor men and women entrepreneurs in 23 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. In the last decade, ACCION partners have disbursed more than 28.5 million loans totaling USD 23.4 billion; 97 percent of the loans have been repaid.

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: ACCION International

Contact Information
ACCION International headquarters
56 Roland Street
Suite 300
Boston, MA 02129 USA
Tel: +1 617 625 7080
Fax: +1 617 625 7020

Additional Resources:
ACCION International press release entitled ‘ACCION Launches Microfinance Operations in Inner Mongolia’: http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=1951