.
| Name | Solfi |
| Where | In Mexico, in poor communities of the countryside (where the population is below 50.000) |
| Type | Non Bank Finance Company |
| Person we met |
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| Website | www.solfi.org |
| Amount of loans | individual loans from 45 to 3.000 USD (from 30 to 2.000 €) for a duration from 2 to 6 months. But these loans are attributed only to a group of 10 to 30 people. |
| Number of micro-entrepreneurs | 40.000 |
| Interest rates | 5%/month in January 2009 (the annual equivalent is 79,6%). |
| Recovery rates | 92% in 2008, 95% in 2007. |
| Percentage of women customers | 50% |
| Comments |
Solfi only lends to groups that are from 10 to 30 people. Solfi does not analyse the business plan of every micro-entrepreneur, and bets on the mutual trust of the members of the group, considering they are all responsible for the reimbursement of every loans of the group. Then, Solfi only asks to each micro-entrepreneur a brief description of his/her business, an ID, a proof of residence, and a drawn map of the location of the micro-entrepreneur’s home. All the members of the group must leave within 30minutes one from the other. Each group member has a guaranty person who is a member of the group. Moreover, at the beginning of a cycle, Solfi asks another guaranty: each borrower must make a cash deposit of 10% of the amount of the loan. The repayments are weekly. The group elects its President, its treasurer and its secretary, and determines the internal rules: location of the weekly meeting, choice of the two members of the group who will go to the bank for the repayment. The loan officer goes every week to the weekly meeting of the group, and makes sure that every member of the group do his/her weekly reimbursement. Every member of the group has to be present. One or two people (who are different every week) go to the bank every week. The average loan amount is 300 USD, and the average length of a cycle is 3.3 months. The loans can be attributed to micro-entrepreneurs who want to start a business, but this kind of loans only represents 10% of the loan portfolio. Without any additional cost for the customer, Solfi offers a micro life insurance of 1.111 USD for every loan. In case of death of the borrower, this insurance covers also the amount still to pay back to Solfi. The advertisement is done by the loan officer in the communities, with flyers, and by going from door to door. Every loan officer has an average of 100 customers, and the goal is 300. Solfi refinances itself with Bancomer bank and with several State organisms. For the management of the loan portfolio, Solfi uses the software ESIACOM, but looks for change it. Any form of microbusiness is represented. |
| In the future | Solfi wants to become one of the 5 main MFI in Mexico in 2014 and still have the same philosophy: to keep an entrepreneurial culture that allows the economic development of the poorest areas in Mexico. Solfi wants to develop the number of its branches and new products, in particular in micro-insurance. |
MFI met on the 14th of January 2009