The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently partnered with Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Nicaragua, to improve its credit risk management system as part of the MFI’s ongoing transition into a regulated financial entity under Nicaragua’s Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions, known by the Spanish acronym SIBOIF. The nature of the assistance to be provided to FUNDESER has not been released.
As of 2011, FUNDESER reports to the US-based Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 16.9 million, 25,000 active borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 0.39 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 6 percent. As of 2012, IFC reported total assets of USD 75.7 billion.
By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate
About Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER)
Fundación para el Desarrollo Socioeconómico Rural (FUNDESER) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Managua, Nicaragua. FUNDESER was launched as a credit and training program for small-scale agricultural producers before being established as an NGO in 2000. It offers loans for working capital, home improvement and education through 18 branches mainly in rural areas. The agricultural sector is the target of 53 percent of the loans disbursed by FUNDESER while 36 percent are directed to the trade sector. As of 2011, FUNDESER reports to the US-based Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 16.9 million, 25,000 active borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 0.39 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 6 percent. FUNDESER does not accept deposits, but is in the process of becoming CUT A a regulated under Nicaragua’s Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (SIBOIF in Spanish) as of 2013.
About the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
A member of the US-based World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) offers loans, equity investments, advisory services and technical assistance to private companies with the intent of alleviating poverty and promoting open and competitive markets in developing countries. As of 2012, IFC reported total assets of USD 75.7 billion.
About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands is a government body based in the Hague that is responsible for carrying out Dutch foreign policy and communicating with foreign governments and organizations. The ministry focuses on ‘international stability and security, energy and raw material security, the international legal order (including human rights) and the commercial and economic interests of the Netherlands and Dutch businesses’. The ministry’s budget for 2012-2013 is unavailable.
Sources and Additional Resources:
IFC Press Release: “IFC Helps Nicaragua’s FUNDESER Increase Access to Financial Services for Rural Micro and Small Entrepreneurs,” http://www.ifc.org/IFCExt/
MicroCapital.org story, February 25, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Donates $360k to Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER) of Nicaragua to Support Transition to Regulated Status Under SIBOIF,” https://www.microcapital.org/
MicroCapital.org story, March 5, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER) of Nicaragua Plans $3m Public Bond Issue,” https://www.microcapital.org/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: FUNDESER
https://www.microcapital.org/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: IFC
https://www.microcapital.org/
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