MICROCAPITAL STORY: Accion International Wins Inter-American Development Bank’s First Juscelino Kubitschek Award

ACCION International has been awarded the Juscelino Kubitschek Award by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) along with two other institutions for their contribution to development in Latin America and the Caribbean. ACCION won the prize in the field of economics and finance which drew nominations from 30 institutions. The criteria used to select the winner for the field of economics and finance was based on the magnitude of its social impact. The award recognizes contributions in two areas: economics and finance, and in the cultural, social and scientific fields. Fe y Alegría and Associacao Vaga Lume will share the award for the social, cultural and scientific category, which received 115 nominations.

The Juscelino Kubitschek Award was created to mark the 50th anniversary of the IDB’s founding, the IDB award honors Juscelino Kubitschek, the Brazilian president who envisioned the creation of a multilateral development institution for Latin America and the Caribbean. Individuals and institutions nominated organizations for the prize. The award, which is held every two years, is the biggest by a multilateral institution in Latin America and the Caribbean. The award drew nominations from organizations representing 22 countries in the Americas and Europe and carries with it a prize of $100,000 for each category. This first edition of the award is for the 2009-2010 period. For more information about the award, click here or to learn more about the jury committee and download a nomination form, click here.

ACCION, a nonprofit organization with a presence in 16 countries in the region, began in Latin America in 1961 with community-development projects in Venezuela. Its mission is to offer financial tools such as microfinance, business training and other financial services, for individuals who want to start their own business. The organization first experimented with microlending in Recife, Brazil as early as 1973. Other work has included the creation of an international network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), in 1983; a loan guarantee fund for MFIs in 1984; and the founding, in 1992, of Bolivia’s BancoSol, a private commercial bank for the poor. ACCION’s donors include The Gates Foundation, AIG, Citigroup, the IDB, the International Finance Corporation, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor and USAID. For more information on ACCION’s donors, click here.

ACCION recently hosted the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Campaign for Client Protection in Microfinance at its Center for Financial Inclusion. The purpose of the meeting was meant to ensure microfinance providers worldwide remain committed to serving their clients’ best interests. The committee is comprised of twenty-three leaders from various microfinance organizations representing a diversity of regions, types of institutions, and expertise. To read a recent MicroCapital story on the meeting, click here.

According to its website, since 1998, ACCION affiliated programs have made USD 23.4 billion in micro loans to more than 7.7 million people, with a historical repayment rate of over 97 percent. As of December 31, 2008 ACCION and its partners had 3.74 million active clients, representing a total loan portfolio of USD 3.57 billion. As of the same date ACCION and its partners had over 800,000 client savings accounts representing approximately USD 1.3 million in deposits. The most recent information for ACCION International on the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse, is from 2002. Per the company’s audited 2007 financial statements, as of December 2007 ACCION had total assets of approximately USD 353 million, total equity of approximately USD 334 million, and total revenues of approximately USD 20 million.