MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $10m to VisionFund for Microfinance in Fragile States, Rural Areas in Africa, Asia

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, recently agreed to lend USD 10 million from the Massif fund to VisionFund International, an NGO conducting microfinance activities in 32 countries for World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization. VisionFund is to deploy the funding in Africa and Asia with a particular focus on fragile states and rural areas. The loan has a term of five years.

VisionFund CEO Michael Mithika said the “loan will be used to further the financial inclusion agenda in remote, rural communities where we know these interventions make the most difference.”

Massif Fund Manager Jeroen Harteveld added, “The FMO financing is focused on providing longer-term financial access to these underserved communities thereby supporting poverty alleviation and job creation.”

The vision of FMO is to help abolish extreme poverty, increase equality and support measures that reduce climate change. Massif is one of four funds that FMO manages behalf of the Dutch government. FMO, which is 49-percent held by private-sector actors, reports total assets of EUR 8.4 billion (USD 10.4 billion) as of June 2017.

World Vision reports USD 1 billion in 2017 revenue.

Sources and Additional Resources:

FMO press release
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/d39f9c38-777e-45cb-94cd-511f8790fa1d/fmo-supports-rural-financial-inclusion-in-fragile-countries

FMO financials as of June 2017
https://www.fmo.nl/l/library/download/urn:uuid:806f7aa7-ba1f-4ed0-a034-308ba6a84f58/interim_report_17_fmo+final.pdf?format=save_to_disk&ext=.pdf

World Vision financials
https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2#1468438460787-19569590-8c21

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