he International Finance Corporation (IFC), the lending arm of the World Bank, recently announced that it would provide advisory services and a USD 6 million loan to Fundacion Mundo Mujer (FMM), a Colombian nongovernmental organization (NGO) that offers microcredit services, in order to help FMM transform into a regulated financial institution.
Rachel Kyte, IFC Vice President for Advisory Services, said in a press release that becoming a regulated institution will enable FMM to “increase the scope of financial products and services that the company is able to provide to its more than [265,000] clients who all belong to the low-income segments of Colombia’s population” [1]. IFC and FMM hope to improve the company’s risk management systems, revise credit policies and procedures, reinforce its training capacity, improve its finance and treasury departments and design and implement savings products.
About the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a member of the World Bank Group, created to support financial private sector development, mobilize private capital and provide advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and services. It uses loan and debt securities, equity investments and guarantees as instruments of poverty alleviation. It invests in financial institutions in emerging markets as well as provides technical assistance. IFC has 182 member countries that collectively determine its policies and approve investments. In 2009, IFC made new investments in developing countries that reached a total of USD 14.5 billion.
About Fundacion Mundo Mujer
Based in Colombia, Fundacion Mundo Mujer (FMM) has been a member of the Women’s World Banking network since 1990. It aims to provide microfinance services to women microentrepreneurs and low-income families. As of 2008, FMM’s thirty branches throughout Colombia serve 265,000 clients, and FMM reports a total outstanding loan portfolio of USD 154 million.
By Eric McKay, Research Assistant
Bibliography
[1] “IFC and Fundación Mundo Mujer to Reach Entrepreneurs and Low-Income Households”, IFC press release, March 2 2010, http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/media.nsf/content/SelectedPressRelease?OpenDocument&UNID=F2FF1F12436BDFE5852576DA0052AEB5
Additional Links
MicroCapital Universe: Fundacion Mundo Mujer: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Fundacion+Mundo+Mujer
MicroCapital Universe: International Finance Corporation: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=International+Finance+Corporation+%28IFC%2
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