Lebanese Association for Development -- Al Majmoua

Gross Loan Portfolio USD, 2010: 17.8 million

Number of active borrowers 2010: 23,487

Average loan balance per borrower USD, 2010: 758.5

Deposits USD, 2010: 0.0

Assets USD, 2010: 22.9 million

Number of depositors 2010: 0

Mission:

Al Majmoua's aim is to create a financial intermediary that will serve Lebanese micro-entrepreneurs and will create social change and increase welfare.

Background and Main Challenges:

Al Majmoua was issued from an SCF Program and had to build its own image in Lebanon as a professional, trustworthy and non-discriminatory institution.

Address:

Spears, Watwat Street

Beirut

Lebanon

Phone:

00 961 1 360914

Fax:

00 961 1 369269

Email:

contact [at] almajmoua [dot] org [dot] lb

Website:

www.almajmoua.com

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Loans

Products and Services:

Loans

Training and Consulting

Products:

1-Individual Lending/Majmoua Fund:
Loan Term is min. 6 months, max. 18 months; size USD 500-7,500.
Flat interest rate of 1.4%-1.65% per month.
Upfront fee 2% of loan.
Monthly repayments and no grace period.
Guarantee: Fixed Assets or Personal Guarantee (cosigner or ... Read more

Looking for (Investment Types):

Capacity Building Grants

Equity investments

Loans in US$

% Operations Comprised by MF:

91 - 100

Date established:

Jan 1 1997

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NGO

Regulated:

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
Women	1
Adolescents and youth (below 18)	2
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
Increased access to financial services	1
Growth of existing businesses	2
Gender equality and women's empowerment	3
Youth opportunities	4
Employment generation	5
Poverty reduction	6
Housing	7
Improvement of adult education	8
Development of start-up enterprises	9
+ Poverty targets
Poor clients
Low income clients
+ Governance
Has trained members of its board on social performance management
+ Range of products and services
+ Financial products and services offered
+ Credit products offered
Microcredit loans for microenterprises
Microcredit for household needs/consumption
SME loans
Loans for agriculture
Loans for education
Housing loans
Loans for vulnerable workers - start-up loans
+ Savings products offered
+ Compulsory insurance products required
Compulsory credit life insurance
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Enterprise skills development
Business development services
Quality improvement - value chain analysis - marketing opportunities
+ Education services offered
Financial literacy education
Household budgeting - savings management
+ Health services offered
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Leadership training for women
Women's rights education/gender issues training
Referral system to other organizations for female victims of violence
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:	Poverty group lending product with loan amount entry of USD 100
+ Social responsibility to clients
+ Client protection principles in use
The loan approval process requires evaluation of borrower repayment capacity and loan affordability. Loan approval does not rely solely on guarantees (whether peer guarantees, co-signers or collateral) as a substitute for good capacity analysis.
Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized re-financing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
Productivity targets and incentive systems value portfolio quality at least as highly as other factors, such as disbursement or customer growth. Growth is rewarded only if portfolio quality is high.
Prices, terms and conditions of all financial products are fully disclosed to the customer prior to sale, including interest charges, insurance premiums, minimum balances, all fees, penalties, linked products, third party fees, and whether these can change over time.
Staff is trained to communicate effectively with all customers, ensuring that they understand the product, the terms of the contract, their rights and obligations. Communications techniques address literacy limitations (e.g. reading contracts out loud, materials in local languages).
Acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of staff rules or debt collection manual.
The organization's corporate culture values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
A mechanism to handle customer complaints is in place, has dedicated staff resources, and is actively used. (Suggestion boxes alone are generally not considered adequate.)
Customers know how their information will be used. Staff explains how data will be used and seeks permission for use.
+ Cost of services to clients
Flat interest method
+ Social responsibility to staff
+ Human resources
Transparency on salary (a clear salary scale based upon market salaries)
Benefits (medical insurance, pension contribution)
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
Grievance mechanism related to the HR department
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
Portfolio quality
Number of applications disbursed per month and amount disbursed per month
+ Social responsibility to the environment
This institution identifies enterprises with environmental risk
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Own proxy poverty index