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| Name | Apoyo Economico |
| Where | In Mexico, in big cities : 81 branches in the cities of the Federal District (Mexico city), of Mexico State (Toluca,…), Veracruz, Campeche, Cancun… |
| Type | Non Bank Finance Company |
| Person we met | Julián Hasfield Arista (Administrative and Finance Officer)
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| Website | www.apoyoeconomico.com.mx |
| Amount of loans | Individual loans from 1.500 to 80.000 MXN (from 90 to 4.800 €) with a length up to 24 months, the amount of the loan depending on the type of loan. |
| Number of micro-entrepreneurs | 55.000 |
| Interest rates | from 2.9% to 5.1%/month (the annual equivalent is from 40.9% to 81.6%) depending of the kind of loan and the seniority of the customer. |
| Recovery rates | 96% |
| Percentage of women customers | 50% |
| Comments |
Apoyo Economico’s mission is to offer its customers the means to realize their projects and to contribute to increase their life standard. Apoyo Economico offers 2 kinds of loans to 2 different kinds of customers:
About the loans attributed to micro-entrepreneurs, Apoyo Economico lend only to micro-businesses already well established. The loan officer investigates and analyses how works the business of the micro-entrepreneur: he/she draws the financial statements of the micro-business according to what he/she saw and what the micro-entrepreneur told him/her. For the 2 kinds of loan, the ability to pay bills is checked, as well as the existence of other running credits. A scoring is done to determine the ability to pay back of the borrower. The loan agreement is signed in an office of Apoyo Economico. If the borrower is married, Apoyo Economico asks the signature of the two members of the couple in order to make both of them responsible for the pay back of the loan. Since August 2008, a free life insurance is included in all the loans. The repayments are weekly and are done in Apoyo Economico offices. From the first day of delay for the reimbursement, the loan officer calls the customer, goes to the micro-business location for asking the weekly payment, and goes to the home of the customer if necessary. Apoyo Economico has developed and keeps developing its own computer system so that it considers as well adapted to its needs. Every branches of Apoyo Economico is independent and has its own profit and loss balance. 1000 people work for Apoyo Economico. When they arrive in the company, all the employees follow a trainee: they begin in basic job and can then progress in the hierarchy at their rhythm. So, they can learn the activity and the procedures of Apoyo Economico. Apoyo Economico refinances itself mostly with a credit line negotiated with JP Morgan. The advertisement is done on the field by the loan officer with posters and flyers, but also on local radios. Any form of microbusiness is represented. |
| In the future | Apoyo Economico wants to develop the number of its branches. The goal is to reach the number of 150 branches in 2011. |
MFI met on the 13th of January 2009