Unitus Inc., an international nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs); the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government agency that invests in international development projects; and Citi Microfinance, Citi’s organization that aims to support MFIs, recently finalized a USD 15 million credit facility that aims to help foster growth among MFIs. The credit facility will target small MFIs that have difficulty competing for funding against well-established, bigger MFIs.
The risk of the eight-year revolving debt and guarantee facility will be shared by Unitus and OPIC, and Citi’s global banking network will provide the program’s lending infrastructure. Each MFI will be able to borrow up to USD 2 million, and the total amount of funding provided to start-up and early stage MFIs is limited to USD 12 million.
About Unitus Inc.
Unitus Inc. is an international nonprofit organization that aims to accelerate the growth of microfinance to alleviate poverty. Unitus draws on employees from a variety of backgrounds, including microfinance, banking, technology and consulting, to provide microfinance institutions (MFIs) with expertise and funding. Unitus currently works with 23 MFIs in India, Southeast Asia, East Africa, South America and Mexico. Unitus also supports the Unitus Equity Fund I that invests in MFIs in India and Latin America.
About Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is an agency of the United States federal government that invests in international development projects. It provides financing through direct loans as well as guarantees, political risk insurance and investment funds. It currently works in over 150 countries. As of 2008, OPIC had assets totaling USD 6.2 billion.
About Citi Microfinance
Citi Microfinance, created in 2005, part of Citigroup, works with over 100 microfinance institutions (MFIs), networks and investors as clients and partners in 40 countries. It aims to expand financial services available to the poor by offering various products and services, including financing, access to capital markets, transaction services, hedging foreign exchange risk, credit, savings, remittances and insurance products.
By Eric Mckay, Research Assistant
Bibliography
[1] Unitus Press Release, “Unitus Teams Up with OPIC & Citi to Make $15 Million Available for the Development of Emerging Microfinance Institutions”, March 29, 2010, http://unitus.com/news-and-information/press-releases/unitus-teams-up-with-opic-citi
Additional Links
MicroCapital Universe: Unitus Inc.: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Unitus+Inc.
MicroCapital Universe: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Overseas+Private+Investment+Corporation+%28OPIC%29
MicroCapital Universe: Citi Microfinance: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Citi+Microfinance
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