MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION Microfinanças of Manaus, Brazil Begins Disbursing Microfinance Loans

ACCION Microfinanças, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Brazil as a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently disbursed its first loan. Officially established in December 2010, ACCION Microfinanças aims support to poor people and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Amazon region through access to microcredit.

The MFI is a product of a joint equity partnership between: ACCION International, which owns 73.4 percent of ACCION Microfinanças; the Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank group, which assumed an 18.1 percent stake; and several private investors. ACCION International assists ACCION Microfinanças with: funding, institutional setup, organizational development, management information systems, credit methodology and risk management.

As of 2009, ACCION International’s network serves 3.3 million active clients and has a gross loan portfolio of USD 31.8 billion [1,2].

By John Howard-Smith, Research Associate

About ACCION International: ACCION International is a private, US-based nonprofit organization with the mission of alleviating poverty by providing financial products, such as microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services to its clients. ACCION was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION’s partner microfinance institutions provide loans to men and women entrepreneurs in 23 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. As of 2009, ACCION’s network serves 3.3 million active clients and has a gross loan portfolio of USD 31.8 billion.

About the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF): The MIF is an autonomous fund that was founded in 1993 and administered by the IDB. The fund has recently started decentralizing its operations, giving IDB country offices more autonomy to distribute “mini-loans,” with the idea that a greater amount of smaller projects will reach more people. The MIF has 38 donating member countries from Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Asia. The United States and Japan play leading roles in the organization.

[1] ACCION International: ACCION Microfinanças, http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=1935&frcrld=1

[2] ACCION International Press Release: “ACCION Gets Green Light from Brazil’s President to

Launch New Microfinance Institution in Amazonas”, http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=1931

MicroCapital.org story, January 29, 2010: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION International Gets Green Light from Brazil’s President to Launch New Microfinance Organization in Amazonas”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-accion-international-gets-green-light-from-brazils-president-to-launch-new-microfinance-organization-in-amazonas/

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: ACCION International, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=ACCION+International

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Multilateral+Investment+Fund+(MIF)

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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