by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: IADB’s X Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise: The Road Ahead

OCTOBER 3-5, 2007, SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR

This tenth annual event is organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador. The conference targets practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean, but is also open to those from other regions. It will offer four categories of technical sessions: 1) “Microfinance” sessions will focus on microfinance products and services, as well as exploring new technologies and methodologies on how to expand access to financial services; 2) “Financial Markets” sessions will be centered on new financial market development that allow micro-enterprises and low-income groups to access financial resources; 3) “Entrepreneurship and Markets” will explore new models and partnerships to serve low-income markets and create opportunities for business growth; 4) “Business Environment” will target public sector strategies to advance regulation, improve formalization and tax regimes and secure transparency in the micro-enterprise sector.

by the MicroCapital Team -

IDB Head Calls for a Tripling of Microfinance Operations in Latin America and the Caribbean

Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the IDB, suggested that the sector should grow to have annual operations of US$15 billion by 2011, citing the fact that “microfinance institutions in Latin America currently only serve about 8% of estimated demand.” The comments were part of his opening speech to the Ninth Annual Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise in Quito,Ecuador, which was attended by 1200 microfinance practitioners from around the world and centered around the topic of Financial Democracy.

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by the MicroCapital Team -

Belgian Incofin Makes Over $400,000 Microfinance Investment, Buying Shares in Peruvian Edypme Confianza and Lending over $300,000 Investment in Nigerian Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO)

Edypme Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) created in 1997 to provide microfinance services to entrepreneurs and small producers, sold shares worth $405,280 to Incofin. Initially, Confianza was primarily an agriculture lender, but changed its lending practices in 2002 and expanded its portfolio to include urban and individual loans. This MFI had $17 million in total assets, over 17,000 active borrowers, and a loan portfolio of $13.7 million at the close of 2004. Edypme Confianza also reported total equity at $3 million, return on assets (ROA) as 1.3%, return on equity (ROE) as 7.2%, a debt to equity ratio of 465%, and a 6.7% profit margin at the end of 2004. According to an Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) survey based on number of loans outstanding in Latin America, Edypme Confianza was ranked 53rd overall and 12th within Peru.

Incepted in Belgium in 1992, Incofin invests in MFIs in 16 countries, and in mid-2005 had total assets of $5.6 million. The duration of Incofin’s loans, which are between $120,000 and $600,000, is five years, and the terms offered are “LIBOR plus full cost plus full risk”. Shareholders include both corporations and private individuals and Incofin invests in equity, quasi-equity, debt securities and guarantees. Although Incofin does not provide a return, it has the objective of maintaining the initial value of the shareholders’ investments.

Incofin also provided Nigerian-based Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) with a $306,000 loan. LAPO is an African NGO established in 1987 with a mission “to promote economic empowerment through financial services on sustainable basis.” In September, 2003 LAPO reported a loan portfolio of $1.2 million and total assets just under $2 million.

Continue reading “Belgian Incofin Makes Over $400,000 Microfinance Investment, Buying Shares in Peruvian Edypme Confianza and Lending over $300,000 Investment in Nigerian Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO)”