A Banrural Grameen borrower working with her handloom
Grameen Trust set up Asociacion Civil Guatemalteca Grameen Credit (ACGGC) in Guatemala in 2006 as a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project with financial assistance from the Whole Planet Foundation. Based on ACGGC's impressive performance in providing Grameen microcredit to the rural poor women in Guatemala, the Guatemalan authorities proposed a partnership between ACGGC, Creciendo Bien and Banrural, one of the largest banks in Guatemala, to expand Grameen microcredit operations nationwide. In December 2007 the organizations finalized the agreement to form Banrural Grameen Microfinanzas (BGM). Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Professor H. I. Latifee, MD, GT, as well as leaders and dignitaries from Guatemala and US were present at the signing ceremony.
Banrural Grameen had a year of growth during 2008. BGM set up nine branches and served 10,023 members. While the number of members increased 56%, the savings mobilization increased 129%. Banrural Grameen has disbursed US$ 3.47 million as micro-loans to its borrowers, and has US$ 1.05 million as outstanding. 100% of the borrowers of Banrural Grameen are women. The program enjoys a 100% repayment rate.
Report by Faruq Al Banna
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UNDP and UNV officials visit MPRP
Micro finance for Poverty Reduction Project (MPRP), which was launched in Zambia in July 2004, had an important year of transition in 2008. The initial project objective was to develop an effective microfinance program for poverty alleviation following the successful Grameen Bank Approach (GBA), as well as develop local capacity in the operations of a best practice sustainable micro finance institution. The project was supported by the governments of Zambia and Japan, as well as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Zambia and United Nations Volunteers (UNV). Two local organizations: Micro Bankers Trust (MBT) and the Institute of Cultural Affairs Zambia (ICAZ) were selected as the local facilitators of the project. The project started working through two branches, one urban branch in Lusaka and a rural branch in Chownge, to implement the Grameen microcredit program of MPRP, following Grameen Trust's Build - Operate - Transfer (BOT) model.
As a part of the long-term objective of the project, the microfinance operations of the two branches were slowly transferred to MBT, as ICAZ had long since ceased to exist. In August 2008 MBT absorbed all MPRP staff who were employed as UN Volunteers (UNVs) as MBT staff. As part of the capacity building process during the transition period, MBT also handed over two of its branches to MPRP for supervision by the Project Coordinator of MPRP, who is on deputation from Grameen Trust. These new branches had significant growth in membership following the handover to MPRP.
Up till December 31, 2008, MPRP served 4,588 members through four branches. The project has disbursed over US$1.58 million as micro-loans, of which over US$1.16 million has been repaid. An independent review of the project in 2008 reported that MPRP was the only MFI in Zambia with 0% portfolio-at-risk (PAR).
Report by Faruq Al Banna
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