Winners of Round Two of the RPPIC

May 6, 2008    

Grameen Foundation USA/FINCA Uganda/UWFT/FOCCAS, Uganda
Through the Grameen Foundation, these three microfinance providers will use RPPIC funds to finance village phone operators (VPOs), increasing access to telecommunications for rural populations while also providing an income generating activity for the VPO and a source of income for the MFIs. In addition to loan income generated through the financing, MFIs will earn revenue by acting as distributors of airtime. The project is a partnership with MTN-Uganda, the country's leading mobile phone communications company, and the initial pilot has shown a strong demand for village phone services as well as pointing out the need for more dedicated support for the project from MFIs. RPPIC funds will pay for one employee per MFI to supervise the project, plus related overhead, training for VPOs and MFI staff, and equipment.

Fondasyon Kole Zepol (FONKOZE), Haiti
FONKOZE is requesting funding for one-time marketing expenses to increase the volume of transfers handled by its remittance service and bring it to profitability. FONKOZE's remittance service costs $10 per transfer regardless of the amount, which compares favorably to the average of $0.25 per dollar charged by other transfer companies. In addition, FONKOZE offers customers better currency exchange rates, the opportunity to collect funds near their homes in rural areas, and the ability to link these funds to other financial services such as savings accounts. Although high-cost transfer companies currently have very strong market presence among both Haitians and Haitian immigrants in the US, FONKOZE's previous marketing efforts have shown that awareness of FONKOZE's service can be increased through targeted publicity in ethnic Haitian media.

PARWAZ Microfinance Fund (PARWAZ), Afghanistan
PARWAZ is one of the few Afghan-led microfinance providers currently operating in Afghanistan. Established in late 2002 with the assistance of Global Exchange, during its first three months of operation it made loans to 253 women, 100% of whose repayments were made in full and on time. Locally staffed, it is not only cost-efficient but also better placed to deal with local power structures in regions where the central government has not fully established authority, enabling it to reach into more remote rural areas. The Board is made up of prominent and experienced Afghans as well as experts in microfinance and management. RPPIC funds would be used for initial operating expenses as well as loan funds.

Resource Integration Center (RIC), Bangladesh
RIC is an established NGO with approximately 35,000 clients. One of its current focus areas is senior citizens, who increasingly have difficulty accessing sources of income, especially if they lack family support. Through field visits and consultations with senior citizens and family and community members, RIC targets attempts to establish the creditworthiness of older clients and provide them with access to microfinance. RIC will use RPPIC funds to expand outreach to this excluded group and conduct action research to document and disseminate learnings about including older people in microfinance programs.

Microfinance Centre for CEE and the NIS (MFC) and Mercy Corps Microfinance Program Barakot, Uzbekistan
MFP Barakot is a microfinance NGO providing credit and business training to microentrepreneurs, especially women. The MFC is a technical resource center and offers training, consulting, research, and legal and policy services to regional microfinance practitioners. The two organizations have together requested funding for the development of a holistic framework to study vulnerability and poverty. This practitioner-friendly research methodology would produce segmented data on client needs for financial and supporting non-financial services, which would subsequently be used to create responsive products through an iterative product design process. The methodology would be perfected on the ground in the context of helping MFP Barakot design new products to expand its rural outreach. The grant would also support documentation and dissemination of this methodology for industry-wide learning.