International Microfinance Loan Portfolio

MicroCredit Enterprises is an innovative approach for helping the poor help themselves. Despite the proven impact of microfinance as an international poverty reduction strategy, fewer than one in five of the world's poorest households have access to financial services - a critical requirement for creating and growing self-help businesses.

To respond to this need, MicroCredit Enterprises leverages private capital and guarantees as security for loans to finance the micro-businesses of impoverished families throughout the developing world. To date, MicroCredit Enterprises has not experienced a single default from its loans to microfinance institutions.

• To learn about the number of poor borrowers served, the percentage of women with microloans, the countries of operation, total loans made, the number of Guarantors, source of funding and many other the operational facts and basic indicators about MicroCredit Enterprises, read Accomplishments and Status Report which is updated regularly.
• For complete roster of overseas microfinance institutions with MicroCredit Enterprises loans, read the Summary of MFI Loan Portfolio.
• To learn how MicroCredit Enterprises performs its state-of-art due diligence of MFIs, see For Microfinance Institutions. See also Loan Diversification Policy.

To learn more about the impact of microfinance, its global scale and its challenges, see Microfinance Overview and the Microfinance Gateway.

MicroCredit Enterprises operates a lean, efficient organization. The total organizational operating annual budget is less than three percent (3%) of total loans to microfinance institutions. See Annual Budget.

MicroCredit Enterprises is primarily financed by the differential between the interest rate charged microfinance institutions and the interest rate which MicroCredit Enterprises itself pays to borrow capital. The organization also accepts charitable contributions.

The majority of the management of MicroCredit Enterprises provides its services on a pro bono basis, so the maximum benefit from each dollar of support reaches the impoverished. The commitment of skilled professionals is saving literally tens of thousands of dollars and making this venture into a working reality. In addition, MicroCredit Enterprises does not operate a "bricks and mortar" office.

MicroCredit Enterprises has established the HunterDouglas Endowment for Microfinance Sustainability which is currently funded at $1 million. Operationally, this fund serves as a liquidity account or Òbridge financingÓ to respond to unexpected financial emergencies in the MicroCredit Enterprises overseas loan portfolio.

A special feature of MicroCredit Enterprises is its commitment to an open source operational model. Thus, if you are working to alleviate poverty in any capacity, you are free to reproduce, use and distribute the contents of this website, provided it is for a noncommercial, nonprofit, not-for-profit and educational purpose. MicroCredit Enterprises does not claim any copyright to this website or its contents.

MicroCredit Enterprises is a non-profit public charity with an Internal Revenue Service approval letter. MicroCredit Enterprises is audited annually by the RINA Accountancy Corporation with a current independent audit. Copies of MicroCredit Enterprises' Bylaws are also available.

MicroCredit Enterprises is governed by a distinguished board of directors with extensive business and public service experience. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the board of directors are Guarantors and all board members serve on a pro bono basis. For a roster of board members, read Senior Management and Board Biographies.

The executive management of MicroCredit Enterprises, including the chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, legal services, and many other professional services, even the design of this web site, are provided free of charge. The CEO and CFO/COO commit full-time to MicroCredit Enterprises. For biographies of senior management, read Senior Management and Board Biographies.

The management team is listed below. Company affiliations listed for informational purposes. All board members and management sign a Conflict of Interest Policy.

Jonathan C. Lewis
Chief Executive Officer

Michael H. Katcher
Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer

Sanjay Sinha
Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Kyle R. Salyer
Executive Vice President, Portfolio Management

Dawnie M. Andrak
Senior Vice President, Development

Gregg Schoen
Managing Co-Chair, Council of Guarantors

William G. Way
Chief Operating Officer
Managing Co-Chair, Council of Guarantors

Karen Roberts (Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott)
Director, Administrative Services

John Hershberger
Director, Stakeholder Engagement

Paula Von Husen
Donor Relations Liaison

Lucy W. Reckseit
Director, Outreach and Alliance Development

MicroCredit Enterprises Partners History and Milestones

MicroCredit Enterprises was founded in 2005. Research and development occurred in 2004 under the aegis of Freedom from Hunger, a non-profit microfinance network established in 1946. Freedom from Hunger provided early seed funding and -- most critically - the policy analysis which today frames the mission of MicroCredit Enterprises.

In April, 2005 - during the United Nations' International Year of MicroCredit -- MicroCredit Enterprises convened its first board of directors meeting and pledged itself to "the socially responsible purpose of providing financial credit and other services related to microfinance in order to alleviate poverty."

In September, 2005 the Calvert Social Investment Foundation committed to provide a $3 million line of credit backed by MicroCredit Enterprises' innovative guarantee model. Seven founding Guarantors signed the Philanthropic Guarantee Agreement, launching MicroCredit Enterprises' lending operations.

In January, 2006, Credito con Educacion Rural (CRECER) in Bolivia became the first recipient of a MicroCredit Enterprises loan. At the time of the loan, CRECER had 68,000 women clients, 70% of whom live in the mountainous Andes, with a repayment rate of 99.6% (average client loan is $185.00).

In January, 2006, the first annual Guatemala Study Mission occurred. Eighteen delegates toured and studied firsthand the moving impact of MicroCredit EnterprisesÕ microloan financing.

In September, 2006, MicroCredit Enterprises committed itself to non-financial pro-poor criteria for making microfinance loans. In addition to assuring a microfinance institution is financially viable and creditworthy, MicroCredit Enterprises gives special consideration to microfinance programs that: (a) increase the number of poor clients served, (b) operate comprehensive social service programs, such as women's empowerment, health education or business training and (c) lower interest rates to impoverished client-borrowers.

In January, 2007, MicroCredit Enterprises converted to a non-profit organization in order to allow for the tax-deductibility of any future Guarantor losses (if any). In the same month, the twentieth MicroCredit Enterprises Guarantor joined the guarantee program, thus, establishing a five percent (5%) per Guarantor pro rata, fair share commitment to cover any microfinance institutional loan default (if any).

In May, 2007, the HunterDouglas Endowment for Microfinance Sustainability reached the $1 million level. Operationally, this fund serves as a liquidity account or Òbridge financingÓ to respond to unexpected financial emergencies in the MicroCredit Enterprises overseas loan portfolio.

In December, 2007, the 34th MicroCredit Enterprises Guarantor joined the program. With 34 Guarantors, the individual Guarantor risk exposure per MFI loan default (in the event one should occur) is below three percent (3%). Each Guarantor equates to roughly 5,000 microloans feeding as many as 25,000 people in the developing world. With 34 Guarantors, MicroCredit Enterprises entered 2008 capable of providing food security to 850,000 impoverished people.