NEWS WIRE: Jamaica: Micro Enterprise Financing Limited (MEFL) to Receive JMD 115m ($1.6m) From Scotiabank and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Source: Jamaica Gleaner.

Original article available here.

KINGSTON, March 9 – Scotiabank Jamaica and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) have committed an additional JMD 115 million (USD 1.6 million) to Micro Enterprise Financing Limited (MEFL) to fund the distribution of loans to small companies.

CIDA is providing the larger portion of JMD 66 million (USD 930,000), while Scotiabank is fronting JMD 49 million (USD 680,000).

MEFL, up to January 31, had disbursed over JMD 520 million (USD 7.3 million) in loans to 13,200 clients, said the bank.

“The most outstanding success of this programme is the accumulated savings of JMD 31 million (USD 435,000) in bank accounts for the clients,” said MEFL chairman, William Clarke, who is also president of Scotiabank Jamaica.

“There is no other micro-finance entity in Jamaica that actively promotes savings. therefore, this unique feature of the MEFL strategy can hardly be replicated.”

The additional capital for MEFL was announced Wednesday.

The micro-financing agency is a near six-year old operation, started as collaboration between partners Scotiabank, Kingston Restoration Company and CIDA.

Contributions

To date, contributions to MEFL have been close to CAD 6 million (USD 6 million) – CIDA, CAD 2.92 million (USD 2.93 million) – and the JMD equivalent of CAD 3 million (USD 3 million) by Scotia, the bank said.

The agency has a new general manager, Glenroy Bernard, who will oversee operations in MEFL’s four locations islandwide – Kingston; Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth; Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland; and, Linstead, St Catherine.

MEFL will be expanding to other parishes over the next five years, Scotiabank said.

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