ACCION International

18.03.2005 The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and ACCION International are supporting the UN Year of Microcredit by funding a new initiative that will help commercial banks around the world offer financial services to the working poor. Based on a model that ACCION piloted in Haiti and Ecuador, the initiative will bring commercial banks into microfinance, leveraging their considerable financial resources and infrastructure to increase the number of people served significantly. IFC will invest $15 million and provide $5 million in grant funding to support the banks’ efforts to extend their reach into lower-income markets. IFC’s funding will be complemented by substantial investments from the participating banks.

01.02.2005 Microcredit--small loans traditionally provided by NGOs or small unregulated institutions--has launched many of the great success stories in development in recent years, allowing thousands of the world's poorest people to start and run their own businesses. A new initiative is now going to bring mainstream banks into the fold, allowing the practice to expand to reach even more of the world's poor.

23.12.2004

© ACCION International

Fast Company magazine, in partnership with global consulting firm Monitor Group, has honored ACCION International for the second consecutive year with one of 25 Social Capitalist Awards. Winners are selected based on a quantitative measure for the group’s innovation and social impact, as well as the viability and sustainability of their business model. They will be featured in Fast Company's January issue, available at newsstands Dec. 21, and online at http://www.fastcompany.com/social.

13.12.2004 The U.S. Congress authorized more funding to provide seed loans to aspiring small business owners in poor countries last week. The field of microfinance has revolutionized financial services for the poor in the past decade, but it still only reaches a maximum of ten percent of the demand for these services, according to a coaliton of groups that promote the practice.

29.11.2004 Fatimata Lonfo, a New York microcredit entrepreneur, opened the New York Stock Exchange recently to kick off the UN's Year of Microcredit.