Winners of Round Eight of the PPIC

May 6, 2008    

Crédit-Epargne-Formation (C.E.-FOR), Madagascar
C.E.-FOR will launch a pilot program to increase financial and nonfinancial services for very poor entrepreneurs who are committed to developing their own income-generating activities. In addition to providing microloans, C.E.-FOR will offer clients savings facilities, business management training, and links to social services. The program will target a preliminary group of 3,000 clients, with the capacity for future program replication.

Institution de Microfinance HOPE (IMF HOPE), Democratic Republic of Congo
Based in the conflict-affected Democratic Republic of Congo, IMF HOPE is expanding its services beyond the urban areas of Kinshasa, Kisangani, and Lubumbashi. IMF HOPE will use the PPIC grant to redesign its current products and delivery mechanisms to reach poorer entrepreneurs in peri-urban areas who have not had access to financial services. Specific product modifications will include adjusting the loan size and client repayment schedules; altering client group sizes and structure; redesigning interaction between credit officers and clients; and assessing subsequent and necessary staff and client training.

Trickle Up Program (TUP) and Bandhan, India
With PPIC funding, the Trickle Up Program will partner with Indian MFI Bandhan to pilot a model to graduate the urban poorest from grants to formal microfinance programs. The pilot will enable the poorest to access microfinance and manage debt successfully by offering clients consumer education, savings services, and business and management training. By the end of the pilot, it is projected that over 80 percent of clients will have graduated from TUP grants to Bandhan_s regular microfinance program.

Union des Clubs d'Epargne et Crédit (UCEC), Chad
UCEC will use the PPIC award to expand its microfinance services in Southern Chad by opening at least three new branches in areas currently lacking any financial service providers. UCEC specifically targets the poorest and most marginalized populations within Chad, which is itself estimated to be among the 10 poorest countries on the planet. The new branches provide access to savings and credit in rural areas where neither government nor private-sector service providers are present.

XacBank, Mongolia
XacBank will use PPIC funds to scale up its _Development Guide_ franchise service for rural savings and credit cooperatives. In this model, XacBank offers the cooperatives on-site consulting and audit services, management training, wholesale loans, and management information systems. XacBank thus hopes to offer rural clients the safety of a bank with the convenience of a local cooperative, at a cost that enables the bank to reach rural clients on a sustainable basis.