UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND    Microfinance

Issue 5 / September - October 2004

Spotlight

Update on the International Year of Microcredit 2005

Featured Guest

Q & A with Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of CGAP

News

Microfinance in focus

Voices of Microfinance

Responses to a question posed to experts and practitioners.

Upcoming Events

Conferences, events and trainings.

Links

New websites and publications.

Share your news!

If you have a current news story or know of an upcoming event that would be of interest to the network, please email the Editor, Emily Krasnor.

News | UNDP Chooses PRIZMA in Bosnia and Herzegovina As a Beacon of Prosperity for Post-Conflict Countries

Young Entrepreneurs in Guyana Also Recognized By Commonwealth Fund

The United Nations Development Program, in August, awarded $135 thousand to PRIZMA, an up-and-coming microcredit organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), to reward its cutting-edge, innovative practices on the eve of the International Year of Microcredit 2005.

The UNDP chose PRIZMA to receive this grant based on a variety of criteria including client outreach, best practices, movement toward sustainability, services to marginalized women in rural BiH, and management ability.

PRIZMA currently serves nearly 12,000 clients at 5 separate branches making it BiH’s fourth largest microcredit institution. Using UNDP’s grant, PRIZMA plans to expand further into underserved markets and service clients who previously had no access to reliable financial services. In fact, PRIZMA hopes to increase their outreach by nearly 5,000 clients by June 2005.

In a world where dozens of countries are involved in or recovering from armed conflicts, PRIZMA will try to set a precedent for best practices and innovation that other post-conflict microfinancial services providers can follow. During the term of the grant, PRIZMA will examine mergers with other MFIs, linkages to commercial banks and other expansion options, enabling the young organization to become a force within the industry.

Already, PRIZMA has exhibited that its clients are responsible and its services are efficient and profitable. Now, among other stated goals PRIZMA will use UNDP’s grant to:

• Increase scale and outreach to underserved areas and client groups;
• Develop and diversify products and services to meet demands of various client groups;
• Improve operational efficiency and become sustainable; and
• To perform in such a way to attract investment from national and foreign banks or investors

Primary client groups that PRIZMA will focus on include widows, the elderly, displaced persons and refugees, returnees, and people living in rural areas. And of these groups, PRIZMA will concentrate on female members.

Awards in Guyana to Go to the Next Generation of Microentrepreneurs

To address the problem of youth unemployment and poverty within Guyana, the country’s Commonwealth Youth Program will enact a Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative, awarding ten young Guyanese entrepreneurs with capital they need to finance their businesses. The initiative will also provide training and mentorship to promote sustainability and self-sufficiency among the microentrepreneurs. The program will distribute approximately $3,847 among the ten recipients for tools, livestock and other necessary supplies. For more information, visit the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative