The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which reported total assets of USD 6.3 billion as of 2008, plans to provide up to USD 2 million to the Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program (HELP) under the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which was founded in 1993 and reported total disbursements of USD 112 million in 2008. HELP was initiated by IDB on June 2, 2010, to provide financial assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs) with the aim of helping low-income borrowers affected by the January 12 earthquake. The following four US-based organizations will also provide an unlisted amount of funding to HELP: the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, the Calmeadow Foundation and the Calvert Foundation [1]. The program will be executed initially by the Emergency Liquidity Facility (ELF), which is located in Costa Rica and was established in 2004 by MIF to “serve as a lender of last resort to microfinance institutions (MFIs) affected by natural disasters or man-made crisis.” It has a total of USD 10 million on-hand for lending as of 2010 [2].
According to IDB, Haitian microfinance institutions had approximately 130,000 borrowers at the end of 2009, with approximately USD 62 million in loans outstanding. About 25 percent of those borrowers were affected by the earthquake. IDB says that this program will “help microlenders to restructure loans, offering borrowers extended repayment terms.”
MIF is also giving a USD 250,000 grant to HELP to assist Haitian microlenders with the improvement of risk management.
By Julia Korn, Research Associate
About The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was established in 1959 and provides multilateral financing in Latin America and the Caribbean. The bank works with governments, companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide both loans and grants to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), health efforts and education, among other sectors. It also provides technical assistance and research in these areas. Its Board of Executives are elected by 48 member countries, 26 of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About The Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program (HELP):
The Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program (HELP) was created by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on June 2, 2010, to help low-income borrowers affected by the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. It provides support to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and will provide “contingent recovery financing” to MFIs.
About The Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN):
The Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) is an autonomous fund that is administered by the IDB. It was created in 1993 to provide funding to micro and small enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has 38 member countries that donate to the fund from Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Asia. It also receives financing from private investors including the Latin American Challenge Investment Fund S.A, the Emergency Liquidity Facility, and ACCION Investments.
About The Emergency Liquidity Facility (ELF):
The Emergency Liquidity Facility (ELF) is owned by Omtrix, Inc., a private financial services consulting firm founded in 1995. ELF is located in San Jose, Costa Rica, with operations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. ELF has approximately USD 10 million available to assist in emergencies as of 2010. ELF’s purpose is to serve as a lender of last resort to microfinance institutions (MFIs) affected by natural disasters or man-made crisis.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Inter-American Development Bank. “IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund backs emergency liquidity program for Haitian microfinance institutions” on June 21, 2010. http://www.iadb.org/news-releases/2010-06/english/idbs-multilateral-inve…
[2] MicroCapital Universe. The Emergency Liquidity Facility. https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=The…
MicroCapital Universe. Inter-American Development Bank. https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Int…
MicroCapital Universe. Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund. https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Int…
MicroCapital Universe: Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program. https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=The…
MicroCapital Universe: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Multilateral+Investment+Fund+%28MIF%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MSMEs in Amazon to Access $900m Loan Pool from IDB, BNDES of Brazil
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Lab Accepting Applications from Entrepreneurs in Latin America, Caribbean for WeXchange Women STEMpreneurs Competition, Partner of Google for Startups, Through March 31
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Annual CLIIQ Nexus Latam; September 26-28, 2023; Cuenca, Ecuador
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Soleco, Deetken, IDB Deliver “Women in Solar” Training in Jamaica
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIM Borrows $20m from IDB Invest for Locfund Next to Support Lenders to MSMEs in Latin America, Caribbean
