MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “FINCA Forward” to Match Fintech Firms, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) for New Product Testing

The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International) recently announced a partnership with the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) Initiative to launch FINCA Forward, which will bring together established microfinance institutions with relatively new financial technology (fintech) companies. This will enable the fintechs to test their products by providing them to MFIs’ existing customer bases. The two-year pilot is funded by a grant from the PACE Initiative and Feed the Future, an anti-hunger initiative launched by the US government in 2010.

FINCA International, a nonprofit based in Washington DC, provides financial services to poor families through a network of locally managed microfinance institutions. Founded in 1984, FINCA International targets its services to poor women living in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia. As of 2017, FINCA International had net assets of USD 245 million and served 2 million clients through subsidiaries in approximately 20 countries.

USAID is a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance. It focuses on areas such as economic growth, agriculture, trade, health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. Under its Development Credit Authority (DCA), it provides credit guarantees that cover up to 50 percent of defaults on loans to underserved borrowers. USAID reported USD 30 billion in budgetary resources for 2017.

By Michelle Fleming, Research Assistant

Sources and Additional Resources

FINCA press release
https://www.finca.org/press-release/finca-forward-fintech-innovation-platform-launch/

Feed the Future homepage
https://www.feedthefuture.gov

FINCA Forward
https://www.FINCA.org/finca-forward/

FINCA homepage
https://www.finca.org

USAID homepage
https://www.usaid.gov

USAID PACE homepage
https://www.usaid.gov/PACE

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