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| Name | Oportunidad Microfinanzas - Mexico |
| Where | Between Guadalajara and Uruapan (Mexique) |
| Type | Non Bank Finance Company |
| Person we met |
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| Website | |
| Amount of loans | individual loans from 2.500 to 25.000 MXN (from 150 to 1.500 €). But these loans are attributed only to a group of 15 people minimum. |
| Number of micro-entrepreneurs | 10.000 |
| Interest rates | 1%/week (the annual equivalent is 67,7%). |
| Recovery rates | more than 90% |
| Comments |
Opportunidad Microfinanzas only attributes microloans to groups of people (15 people minimum). These people must all together pay back their loans. Opportunidad Microfinanzas does not really look into details at the business plan of each microentrepreneur, but simply trusts them and believes that all the people of the group will all together pay back all the loans of the group. Opportunidad Microfinanzas prefers to lend money to microentrepreneurs who already started a business and who wish to make it grow, instead to microentrepreneurs who wish to start a business. Every loan represents a cycle of 16 weeks, no exception. The loan officer meets his groups once a week to check that the weekly reimbursement is done. As Opportunidad Microfinanzas is not a bank, it cannot get the money directly. So it organizes partnerships with local banks. Each week, to protect the group, two different people go to the bank with the money of the group. At the beginning of each cycle, the group elects a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Even if Opportunidad Microfinanzas does not discriminate, loans are attributed to women for 85%. For advertisement, the loan officer goes in front of the churches or to any events of a community. Then, he organizes meetings to give more information. Any form of microbusiness is represented. Opprtunidad Microfinanzas is the only MFI in the region that associates a spiritual dimension to the microloans. So, when the loan officer visits one group, he not only check that the pay back is done, but he also participates to a common prayer with all the members of the group, and gives them some training about everyday themes such as health, family life, community life, children education, etc. |
| In the future | Opprtunidad Microfinanzas wishes to transform his structure into a bank in the next years, to be allowed to receive the money directly, but also to develop services for savings and to lower its interest rates. |
MFI met on the 23rd of December 2008