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WWB Colombia is a microfinance institution in Colombia.
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WWB Colombia is a microfinance institution in Colombia.
WWB Colombia - Cali was founded in 1980 by a group of professional and businesswomen in Cali, Colombia.
WWB Colombia was the first entity to grant a micro loan in the country. Today it is one of three main microcredit players in Colombia. It was the first to affiliate to the Women's World Banking International Network.
It received financial and technical support from various institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank, FOMIN (Multilateral Investment Fund), International Finance Corporation, German Technical Cooperation, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor and Development Bank of Latin America.
In February 2005, WWB Colombia issued its first bond on the Colombian Stock Exchange. The amount, in two tranches, was $120.000 million (US $52 million). The rating by Duff & Phelps was AA+.
As of December 31, 2008, WWB Colombia had 230.000 current loans. The number of jobs generated by microenterprises funded by WWB Colombia amounted to 280.000.
As of March 2009, WWB Colombia had approximately 1.000 employees and a network of 59 branches. Its headquarters were in Cali, Colombia. Clara Serra de Akerman is the president.
The group uses an individual loan methodology based on a computerized information system. The institution’s client-base is 67% women, mainly from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strata of the population (the lowest income strata). The clients’ main business activities revolve around production (20%), sales (55%) and service (25%) sectors.
WWB Colombia offers loans starting at US $50. However, the average loan size is US $1.100. Loans are provided through simple procedures and personalized attention. Terms and rates are fixed according to the type of microbusiness, and collateral requirements according to the condition of each micro entrepreneur. 82% of all loans granted by the institution are renewals. WWB Colombia also offers insurance (life and education).
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, or a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent.
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other branches. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) is an Indian financial services company based in Mumbai, India. It is a major provider of finance for housing in India. It also has a presence in banking, life and general insurance, asset management, venture capital, realty, education, deposits and education loans.
Banca Comercială Română (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is the most important financial group in Romania, including operations of universal bank, as well as specialized companies on the leasing market, assets management, private pensions, housing banks and banking services through mobile phone. BCR is No. 1 bank in Romania on the assets value, No. 1 Bank by number of clients and No. 1 bank by savings and financing segments.
A micro-enterprise is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount. The terms microenterprise and microbusiness have the same meaning, though traditionally when referring to a small business financed by microcredit the term microenterprise is often used. Similarly, when referring to a small, usually legal business that is not financed by microcredit, the term microbusiness is often used. Internationally, most microenterprises are family businesses employing one or two persons. Most microenterprise owners are primarily interested in earning a living to support themselves and their families. They only grow the business when something in their lives changes and they need to generate a larger income. According to information found on the Census.gov website, microenterprises make up 95% of the 28 million US companies tracked by the census.
Opportunity International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to end global poverty by creating and sustaining jobs. Through a network of 47 program and support partners, Opportunity provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to more than 14 million people in the developing world. It has clients in more than 20 countries and works with fundraising partners in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Opportunity International has 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt charitable organization in the United States of America under the US Internal Revenue Code.
Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) is a microfinancing agency of the Aga Khan Development Network.
Micro financing in Tanzania started in 1995 with SACCOS and NGOs. It has since then contributed to the increasing success of international micro financing. Microfinance stills remains a relatively new in Tanzania since it has not penetrated yet. Since 1995, microfinance has been linked to poverty alleviation programs and women. The government made efforts to ensure commercial banks have continued to provide financial support to the small entrepreneurial business. However a microfinance National Policy was implemented in 2002 to encourage and support microfinances in the country. Since the implementation, micro financing was officially launched and recognized as a poverty alleviation tool. Due to its increase exposure and use in the nation, commercial banks have developed interests in to offer microfinance. There are various microfinance banks that functions as supporting institutions in the country that usually provide microfinance services. These may include the CRDB, National Microfinance Bank, and AKIBA. However there are also other few banks that are concerned with micro financing in Tanzania such as the PRIDE and SEDA, Tanzania Postal Bank and FINCA. Community and small banks have also expressed interest in the same including the NGOs and other non-profit organizations.
FINCA International is a non-profit, microfinance organization, founded by John Hatch in 1984. Sometimes referred to as the "World Bank for the Poor", FINCA is the innovator of the village banking methodology in microcredit and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern-day microfinance. With its headquarters in Washington, D.C., FINCA has 20 affiliated host-country institutions (affiliates), in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eurasia and the Middle East and South Asia. Along with Grameen Bank and Accion International, FINCA is considered to be one of the most influential microfinance organizations in the world.
Village banking is a microcredit methodology whereby financial services are administered locally rather than centralized in a formal bank. Village banking has its roots in ancient cultures and was most recently adopted for use by micro-finance institutions (MFIs) as a way to control costs. Early MFI village banking methods were innovated by Grameen Bank and then later developed by groups such as FINCA International founder John Hatch. Among US-based non-profit agencies there are at least 31 microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have collectively created over 800 village banking programs in at least 90 countries. And in many of these countries there are host-country MFIs—sometimes dozens—that are village banking practitioners as well.
Friends of Women's World Banking, India, often shortened to Friends of WWB, India, or just FWWB, is an Indian APEX organization that assists microfinance and microenterprise organizations. Founded in 1982 by Ela Bhatt, it is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
IDFC Bharat Ltd is a microfinance institution, operating in the Tamil Nadu area of South India. Since 1993, it has provided small loans to women without access to formal credit and who typically have daily incomes of less than INR 80 (US$2) per day.
Citibank Indonesia is a universal bank that offers a wide range of retail and commercial banking services. Citi has been present in Indonesia since 1968 and is one of the largest foreign banks in the country by asset size. Citibank Indonesia operates 11 branches and 70+ ATMs; it has a customer payment network with more than 50,000 payment points and a corporate distribution network with 4,800 locations across 34 provinces. Citibank Indonesia is a fully owned subsidiary of Citibank NA.
Fonkoze is Haiti's largest microfinance institution serving the poor and ultra-poor in Haiti, with 44 branches located throughout the country. The name Fonkoze is an acronym for the Haitian Creole phrase "Fondasyon Kole Zepòl" meaning "Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation." Its mission is to empower Haitians, primarily women, with financial and development services to lift themselves out of poverty. Fonkoze's development programs include Adult Education, Ultra-Poverty Alleviation and Boutik Sante, a health program designed to create a new business opportunity for Fonkoze's existing clients while also providing much-needed health products, services and education to rural communities throughout the country. Fonkoze is a family of three organizations working together to achieve its mission:
Pride Microfinance Limited (PMFL), is a microfinance deposit-taking institution (MDI) in Uganda. It is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator.
Women's World Banking is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic support, technical assistance and information to a global network of 55 independent microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks that offer credit and other financial services to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world, with a particular focus on women. The Women's World Banking network serves 24 million micro-entrepreneurs in 32 countries worldwide, of which 80 percent are women. It is the largest global network of microfinance institutions and banks in terms of number of clients, and the only one that explicitly designates poor women as the focus of its mission.
Angkor Mikroheranhvatho (Kampuchea) Co., also known as AMK, is a registered microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with over 280,000 active borrowers. AMK is the largest provider of credit in Cambodia in terms of borrower numbers and has branches in 23 provinces and Phnom Penh city. It has over 10,000 active savers and over 1,000 employees. AMK provides several microfinance services, including microcredit, microsavings, and mobile money transfers.
'Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank is a public sector financial institution in India. It provides loans at low rates to micro-finance institutions and non-banking financial institutions which then provide credit to MSMEs. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015.
Microfinance in Kenya consists of microfinance facilities and regulations in Kenya which has been developing since the mid 1990s. Legislation was passed in 2006 with the Micro Finance Act which became active in 2008. By 2010 there were 24 large micro finance institutions in Kenya, which provided US $1.5 billion to approximately 1.5 million active borrowers. With over 100,000 clients, Equity Bank had the largest share of business loans representing market share of 73.50% followed by Kenya Women Microfinance Bank with 12.06%. Most microfinance firms as in other countries have eligibility criteria which may include gender, age, a valid Kenyan ID, a business, an ability to repay the loan and be a customer of the institution.
Kashf Foundation is a non-profit, microfinance and wealth management organization, founded by Roshaneh Zafar in 1996. Kashf is regarded as the first microfinance institution (MFI) of Pakistan that uses village banking methodology in microcredit to alleviate poverty by providing affordable financial and non-financial services to low income households - particularly for women, to build their capacity and enhance their economic role. With headquarters in Lahore, Punjab, Kashf has regional offices in five major cities and over 200 branches across the Pakistan.
