MiCredito

funding gap emerging markets

MiCrédito Nicaragua is a non-deposit-taking Microfinance Institution (“MFI”) that serves customers at the bottom of the pyramid in Nicaragua. The current management team together with the largest shareholder in MiCrédito Panama (Mennonite Economic Development Associates or “MEDA”) have been involved in micro-lending in Nicaragua since 1990 when they established Fundación CHISPA, one of the most successful programs in micro-lending in Nicaragua. In 2000, CHISPA partnered with other investors to establish the first regulated MFI in the country (“CONFIA”) which grew to a 10-branch network with 70 staff members.

In 2004, MEDA felt that it still had a role to play to promote financial inclusion in Nicaragua, particularly by providing improved levels of service and by targeting the underserved rural markets. That is the moment that, together with some of the key staff that participated in the original CHISPA, MiCrédito Nicaragua was created as a NGO. MiCrédito management dedicated over eight years to building institutional. In 2013 MiCrédito was approved by Nicaragua's new microfinance regulating body National Comission of Microfinance in Nicaragua (“CONAMI”).

MiCrédito has 12 branches. The agents at the branches use a traditional personal approach, going door to door, visiting rural communities by motorcycle. MC also has an active digitization strategy, which has paid of during the COVID-19 crisis. Apart from a few remaining regulatory requirements in the KYC area, the company has entirely digitized its processes.

General information

BorrowerApoyo y Desarrollo de la Micro y Pequena Empresa Urbana y Rural, SA
CountryNicaragua
Head officeManagua
Websitehttps://www.micredito-en.com/
Founded 1 July 2004
Active on Lendahand since 1 July 2021
Credit Score3.04

Financial information per 2023-09-30

Portfolio Overview€20,397,444
Leverage ratio69.20%
Write-off ratio last 12 months0.40%
% investment amount in arrears (>90 days)2.00%

About Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Managua is the country's capital and largest city and is also the third-largest city in Central America, behind Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The multi-ethnic population of six million includes people of indigenous, European, African, and Asian heritage. The main language is Spanish. Indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination.

Last funded project