MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Donating up to $6m to World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) for Housing Development in Haiti

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign assistance agency of the US government, recently agreed to give the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based association of credit union groups in 54 countries, a donation up to USD 6 million under USAID’S “Home Ownership and Mortgage Expansion” (HOME) facility. The donation is meant to increase access to “secure mortgage financing” and “affordable housing” for low-income families in Haiti [2].

Under the agreement, WOCCU will “convene relevant actors with a stake in affordable housing in Haiti”, provide technical assistance to participating financial institutions and prospective developers of affordable housing, oversee risk mitigation strategies, and “provide advocacy on matters pertaining to affordable housing construction”[2].

HOME was developed by USAID in 2014 with the following objectives: (1) stimulating community housing development in Haiti by providing access to affordable housing finance; (2) building the “appetite and capacity” of participating financial intermediaries to issue mortgages for households earning under USD 500 per month; (3) building the “appetite and capacity” of housing developers to build units that would be affordable for “average” Haitian households; and (4) assessing the target markets for different types of housing finance and homeownership options[2].

USAID has a total of USD 20.1 billion in budgetary resources for fiscal year 2015. WOCCU reported total assets of USD 11.1 million in 2014. In Haiti, WOCCU partners with Habitat for Humanity International, a US-based nonprofit whose mission is to provide poor people with clean, safe and affordable places to live, and the Affordable Housing Institute, a US-based consultancy that specializes in housing policy and finance in the developing world.

By Mathew Cerf, Research Associate

About World Council of Credit Unions

Established in 1971, the US-based World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is a trade association and support agency for credit unions. WOCCU advocates before governments and international organizations on behalf of 44 credit union trade groups operating in 54 countries. Its technical assistance programs introduce tools and technologies intended to strengthen the financial performance of credit unions and increase their outreach. WOCCU consists of three entities: (1) WOCCU Incorporated, a nonprofit trade association; (2) WOCCU Services Group, which is a for-profit corporation; and (3) The Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, a charitable organization. WOCCU reported total assets of USD 11.1 million in 2014.

About United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a government agency that provides assistance in areas such as economic growth, agriculture, trade, health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. Under the Development Credit Authority (DCA), it provides credit guarantees that cover up to 50 percent of defaults on wholesale loans made by private financial institutions to institutions that lend on a retail basis to underserved borrowers. USAID has a total of USD 20.1 billion in budgetary resources for the fiscal year 2015.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] World Council of Credit Unions; “World Council Awarded New USAID Program to Stimulate Affordable Housing Market in Haiti”;http://www.woccu.org/newsroom/releases/World_Council_Awarded_New_USAID_Program_to_Stimulate_Affordable_Housing_Market_in_Haiti

[2] USAID Haiti; “Statement of Work Home Ownership and Mortgage Expansion”; http://www.grants.gov/search-grants.html

[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile; “United States Agency for International Development”; http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=United+States+Agency+for+International+Development+%28USAID%29

[4] MicroCapital Universe Profile; “World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU)”; http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=World+Council+of+Credit+Unions+%28WOCCU%29

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