PRESS RELEASE: Grameen Foundation and Pro Mujer International Guarantee $1.2m Loan from Banco de Credito to Pro Mujer Peru

Original press release available here.

WASHINGTON, May 29 – Grameen Foundation and Pro Mujer International today announced a USD 1.2 million loan for Pro Mujer Peru that will expand new opportunities for poor Peruvian women in need of credit. The financing from Banco de Credito del Peru was facilitated through a USD 400,000 co-guarantee split evenly between Grameen Foundation’s Growth Guarantees Program and Pro Mujer International. It is the highest leverage yet achieved on financing provided by a Peruvian commercial bank to an MFI, and is a clear indication of the deepening support for microfinance in Peru’s commercial banking sector.

This also marks the first transaction negotiated jointly by Grameen Foundation and Pro Mujer International which have generated USD 15.4 million in combined financing for Latin American MFIs since 2005.

“The size and scale of this transaction for Pro Mujer Peru show that local commercial banks are finally viewing microfinance institutions as viable clients, which represents an important development towards achieving of universal access to high quality microfinance services for Peru’s poor,” said Alex Counts, president and CEO of Grameen Foundation.

Adds Ben Moyer, CEO, Pro Mujer International, “The Peruvian banking sector’s continued and growing support of Pro Mujer Peru is an acknowledgement of the solid operations and financial strength of this microfinance organization. This transaction will allow Pro Mujer to expand its diverse microfinance products along with business training and healthcare to reach larger numbers of poor women entrepreneurs in Peru.”

Added Naldi Delgado, Director, Pro Mujer Peru, “This transaction has allowed us to access resources in local currency, avoiding the foreign exchange risk. These resources will allow a loan portfolio increase to expand our operations in rural areas.”

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world’s poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of partners in 27 countries that has impacted an estimated 31 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. Grameen Foundation was founded by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with Grameen Bank founder, and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Dr. Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation’s board of directors.

Pro Mujer is an international microfinance and women’s development network whose mission is to provide Latin America’s poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support. Established in 1990, the network comprises microfinance institutions in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

Since its inception, Pro Mujer has disbursed more than US$436 million in small loans averaging approximately US$215 and serving more than one million women and their families. Clients have saved US$15 million, providing a financial buffer for their families in times of crisis.

Pro Mujer International (PMI) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization based in New York City.

Founded in 1999, Pro Mujer Peru operates mainly in cities located in the south of Perú and offers a wide range of services to their clients, including several types of loans, access to saving accounts, business training, healthcare and education. Though several alliances with private and public institutions, Pro Mujer Peru promotes integral health services for women and children.

In 2008 Pro Mujer Peru was named in Forbes’ first-ever list of the World’s Top 50 Microfinance Institutions.

As of March 31, 2008 Pro Mujer Peru had approximately 42,000 active clients and a gross loan portfolio of more than US$10 million.

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