MICROCAPITAL STORY: Swiss responsAbility Lends $600k to Honduran COMIXMUL and Peruvian Frontera

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) recently reported that responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF) made two USD 300,000 loans to Latin American Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitadas (COMIXMUL) and Frontera de San Ignacio.

Founded in 1986, Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitadas (COMIXMUL) is a Honduras-based cooperative that promotes microenterprise development by providing microlending and business training programs for its members. It is particularly concerned with promoting microenterprise development among women. As of December 2007, COMIXMUL held USD 12 million in total assets. Calculated from its financial statements, the organization had a debt-to-equity ratio of 362.56 percent and return on assets of 1.54 percent. COMIXMUL received a BB- in 2006 from Italian microfinance rating agency Microfinanza.

Estabilished in 1968, Frontera de San Ignacio is a Peruvian cooperative of coffee plantations, employing a total of 319 individuals. It is unclear whether the organization will use rAGMF’s loan to provide microlending services. Fair Trade Certified’s Profile on Frontera suggests that it may offer its members microloans to fund higher education and healthcare expenses. Financial information on Frontera is not listed on MIX Market, and the cooperative does not have a website. Ratings on microlending practices were not available.

Established in 2003, the rAGMF fund was created by Switzerland-based responsAbility, an asset management firm that connects social investors with microfinance institutions. The fund made headlines on MicroCapital recently for its heavy lending activity in Central Asia, including USD 1,000,000 to Kompanion, USD 1,000,000 to Constanta, USD 1,500,000 to Bai Tushum and USD 1,500,000 to Eskhata Bank. All MicroCapital stories on rAGMF can be found here. According the rAGMF’s April 2008 monthly report, it held 163 microfinance investments totaling USD 224.5 million. Ninety four percent of its portfolio consisted of debt investments, while six percent was equity. The fund reported total assets of USD 250.5 million as of April 2008.