Winners of Round Four of the PPIC

May 6, 2008    

National Rural Support Program (NRSP), Hyderabad Pakistan
NRSP won PPIC funds for working with newly released bonded laborers in Pakistan. NRSP provides the microloans that these clients need in order to purchase agricultural land provided through a special government program, acquiring assets that will eliminate the need to return to indentured work.

Center for Microfinance (CMF), Nepal
CMF is currently working with formal insurance companies and insurance experts in developing a life insurance product for the poor, wherein the insurance company does the underwriting, determines the pricing, and manages the risks, while MFIs focus on their comparative advantage of collecting premiums. CMF expects that in the next two years the life insurance product will be rolled out, a training manual developed and 15,000 people in the plains and 2,000 people in the hills provided insurance coverage.

PACT, Myanmar
PACT's Partnership for Primary Health Care Project (PPHC) provides health and life insurance services to subscribed members, improves the distribution of basic drugs at the village level, and creates village level structures to monitor and improve community health conditions. The project charges for services and is expected to eventually become financially viable.

Jamaican Cooperative Credit Union League (JCCUL), Jamaica
The JCCUL used its PPIC award to implement a system linking member credit unions to a variety of remittance transfer companies, enabling customers to access remittance funds at credit unions and deposit them in savings accounts. The service is also one of the lowest priced in Jamaica, cutting financial and transaction costs for senders and receivers.

Asociacion Mexicana de Uniones de Credito del Sector Social, A.C. (AMUCCS), Mexico
AMUCSS is a support organization and umbrella entity for two networks of rural and microfinance providers, that include both cooperatives and 'microbancos'. AMUCSS used the CGAP grant to extend access to remittance monies to remote rural areas through pilots in two microbancos in Mixteca de Oaxaca, and to facilitate the link between remittances and access to other finance services, e.g. deposits. The pilot has shown that access of small and difficult-to-reach rural communities to remittance monies can be significantly improved, in terms of cost, time, and security.

Sinapi Aba Trust, Ghana
The Sinapi Aba Trust used its PPIC award to integrate a holistic set of client impact indicators into its MIS. The indicators are designed to track not only economic changes but also social and political transformations in clients' lives, as well as client satisfaction and retention levels.

Lift Above Poverty (LAPO), Nigeria
With the help of its PPIC award, LAPO provided loans for its clients to participate in the privatization of state-owned enterprises in industries such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, shipping, and aviation, an option that had formerly open only to the wealthy. LAPO believes that enabling the poor to buy shares in these financially viable companies, when combined with sound financial advice, will enable them to build up a long-term asset base.

Horizonti, Macedonia
Macedonia had been the only example of peaceful separation of a former Yugoslav republic, but in 2001 violence broke out there as well. As attrition increased and repayments fell, Horizonti had to adapt its methodology accordingly, tightening rules to preserve the viability of the program while putting in place a strict set of rules for accepting partial payments in cases of real need. It also sent out a clear message that the institution would continue issuing loans despite the violence. This has served to stabilize repayment rates, as Horizonti is now seen as the only long-term source of finance in its market.

Rural Finance Corporation (RFC), Moldova
The Rural Finance Corporation (RFC) provides loans and technical assistance to village Savings and Credit Associations (SCAs). As the SCAs grow in size, they borrow ever-larger amounts from the RFC. At present cash is simply transferred to villages, but this creates an obvious security issue. The RFC has therefore negotiated links with two commercial banks, and will install there banks' software in at least 5 SCAs. Cash will no longer be transferred to these associations from the RFC, but instead transferred to the nearest bank branch, and the SCA can withdraw the funds as needed. Using the softward will also make non-cash financial products available to SCA members.

Organizacion de Desarrollo Empresarial Femenino (ODEF), Honduras (Web site only available in Spanish)
While efficient mechanisms exist to transfer remittance monies to Honduras from abroad, internal transfer mechanisms outside of major towns are much less well developed. ODEF aims to improve this access for its clients by partnering with the a federation of credit unions whose links to US credit unions allow Honduran emigrants to send money to Honduras. ODEF will notify its clients and disburse the funds through one of its 9 branch offices or, in the future, through more innovative communications technologies like smart cards.