At a signing ceremony in Jamaica covered by The Gleaner, a Jamaican news publication, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) extended a loan of USD 450,000 to the microfinance institution (MFI) Micro Credit Limited. According to the article, Gerard Johnson argued during the ceremony that the Jamaican government is ill-equipped to deal with the financial needs of micro-businesses and often misdirects loans designated for MFIs. “This undermines non-government organizations,” he states. “The problem is access to these loans. The role of government should be to get persons to the point where they qualify for access.”

Micro Credit Limited will provide six to eight week loans to micro-businesses at an interest rate of one percent per week.

IDB has not directly released information regarding the investment as of this writing.

About Micro Credit Limited:

Micro Credit Limited is an unregulated microfinance institution (MFI) in Jamaica that was founded in 2003. It does not report financial information to the MIX Market.

By Matthew Fox, Research Assistant

Sources and Additional Resources

The Gleaner: Back Off! Government Told to Limit Role in Providing Small Loans: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100703/lead/lead3.html

MicroCapital Universe: Bank of Jamaica: http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bank+of+Jamaica

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