MICROCAPITAL STORY: Jamaican Diaspora and USAID Team Up to Launch Microfinance Fund for Inner City Residents

Jamaica’s Diaspora community and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are partnering to launch a microfinance loan fund for Jamaicans living in inner cities. To date, approximately USD 100,000 has been raised from Diaspora interests in the United States for the proposed Fund for Inner City Sustainable Transformation (FIST).

According to Betrand Laurent, director of the USAID Community Empowerment Transformation (COMET), USAID’s role in the project will be limited to facilitating the development of FIST, which has yet to be formally established. The structuring and management of the fund will be the responsibility of the Diaspora community.

Individual lenders in the Diaspora are likely to offer loans at lower interest rates and on more flexible terms, according to Mr. Laurent.

USAID is currently in discussions with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) to try to secure involvement of Diaspora members from Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action (FAVACA) will also participate in establishing the fund after conducting research on the efficacy of various microfinance methodologies in the Caribbean.

COMET, which is in its third year in operation, aims to increase economic growth, security and the quality of governance in urban Jamaica. In the coming year, COMET plans to accelerate its activities. Between January and June 2008, the group will conduct capacity-building workshops for community-based organizations in several major cities. Similar programs have already assisted microenterprises in Flankers, St. James; White Marl, St. Catherine; and, most recently, Grants Pen, St. Andrew.

USAID is an independent government agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. In 2007, the organization has a budget of roughly USD 9.3 billion.

Additional Resources:

Jamaica Observer: “$7.2m raised from diaspora for inner city fund.” By Ross Sheil.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

USAID: Budget Summary

USAID: Jamaica: Community Empowerment Transformation
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Department for International Development (DFID)

Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action

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