Friendship Bridge | MFIs in Guatemala

Mission:

To provide microcredit and education to help women and their families create their own solutions to poverty

Background and Main Challenges:

Credit bank in Guatemala and formerly in Vietnam. 4,519 borrowers in rural highlands. In Guatemala since 1998. Main challenges are financing, and cost effective and efficient delivery in a rural environment.

Address:

Avenida Santander 5-38 zona 2 Panajachel

Panajachel

Sololá

Guatemala

Phone:

(502) 7762 0222

Fax:

(502) 7762 2386

Email:

puentedeamistad [at] friendshipbridge [dot] org [dot] gt

Website:

www.friendshipbridge.org.gt

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Shareholder Capital

Products and Services:

Loans

Services Provided:

Health

Education

Other

Looking for (Investment Types):

Loans in Local Currency

Donations

Loans in US$

% Operations Comprised by MF:

61 - 70

Date established:

Jan 1 1989

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NGO

Regulated:

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
+ Poverty targets
Very poor clients
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
Loans for agriculture
Otorgamos prestamos agropecuarios y festivos para los microempresarios
+ Savings products offered
+ Compulsory insurance products required
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Enterprise skills development
+ Education services offered
Financial literacy education
Basic health/nutrition education
Autoestima y como ellas pueden apoyar a sus hijos en la escuela
+ Health services offered
Ofrecemos capacitaciones básicas durante reuniones de repago y ofrecemos cursos especiales en nuestros centros de aprendizaje
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Leadership training for women
Women's rights education/gender issues training
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:
+ 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
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
Para contratar al personal de campo se toma en cuenta que el candidato sea nativo del área geográfica y que sepan hablar la lengua local
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
+ Social responsibility to the environment
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Per capita household expenditure
Housing index
Means test
Food security index