MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Vision International (WVI) Announces 48.8 Percent Growth in Microfinance Clientèle of the Middle East and Eastern Europe Region (MEER)

Fiscal year 2007 saw growth in the Middle East/Eastern Europe Region (MEER) according to World Vision International’s (WVI) local office based in Cyprus. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) grew their clientele to over 100,000, a 48.8 percent increase, with most of the growth coming from Eastern Europe. The total MEER portfolio grew to USD 203 million in 2007. Previous MEER portfolio figures were unavailable.

WVI is an international Christian humanitarian organization which organizes relief efforts, child sponsorships, and supports MFIs, among other activities. World Vision was established in 1950 and is active in nearly 100 countries. The MEER includes Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, the Palestinian Territories (including Jerusalem), Kosovo, Lebanon, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Uzbekistan.

Two of the region’s top performers, Ekonomsko Kreditna Institucija (EKI) of Bosnia-Herzegovina and AgroInvest of Serbia and Montenegro, were also included in last month’s Forbes Magazine listing of the top 50 MFIs, as reported by MicroCapital. EKI was established by WVI in 1996 and has over 35,000 current clients and a loan portfolio of USD 71.2 million, according to the microfinance information clearinghouse, the MIX Market. With a 2007 “A” rating from Planet Rating, an international agency which evaluates MFIs, and a growing operational self-sufficiency (OSS) ratio currently at 154 percent, EKI hopes to continue the progress which earned it 14th place on the Forbes list. The MIX Market reports that EKI operates on a debt to equity ratio of 386 percent and reported return on assets (ROA) in 2006 of 7.89 percent.

AgroInvest, a non-bank financial institution providing financial services to rural families in Serbia and Montenegro since July 1999 in a WVI response to the devastation of the Kosovo conflict, came in 22nd in the Forbes ratings and operates through over 300 village associations governed by member-elected councils. The MIX Market reports 2006 total assets of USD 43.3 million and WVI’s country page states that there are currently over 28,000 clients, 64 percent of which are women, and that Agroinvest is operating with a 0.3 percent delinquency rate. Agroinvest’s OSS is identical to EKI’s at 154 percent and the institution earned an “A minus” from Planet Rating in 2006. AgroInvest’s loan portfolio is USD 41.3 million with an ROA of 7.66 percent and debt to equity ratio of 159 percent.

The MIX Market reports that, as of 2002, WVI’s micro-enterprise development (MED) network consisted of 43 MFIs which seek to operate as sustainable businesses, unlike many of WVI’s other philanthropic programs which depend on grants and donations. A complete directory was not found, however the MIX Market lists the following MFIs as members of the worldwide network:

(All links take reader to their MIX Market profiles.)

Agroinvest – Serbia and Montenegro
APED (Association of Progressive Entrepreneurs in Development) – Ghana
Azercredit (WV Azercredit LLC) – Azerbaijan
CAPA (CAPA Finance S.A.) – Romania
CEVI (Community Economic Ventures, Inc. ) – Philippines
CREDO (VF Credo Foundation) – Georgia
Ekonomsko Kreditna Institucija (EKI) – Bosnia and Herzegovina
FITSE (Finance Trust for the Self Employed) – Malawi
FODEMI (Fondo de Desarrollo Microempresarial) – Ecuador
KosInvest (KosInvest) – Kosovo
SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency) – Tanzania
SEF-ARM (SEF International Universal Credit Organization) – Armenia
VFC (VisionFund Cambodia Ltd.) – Cambodia
Wisdom (Wisdom) – Ethiopia
ASKS (Anannyo Samaj Kallyan Sangostha) – Bangladesh
KADET (Kenya Agency to Development of Enterprise and Technology ) – Kenya