Monday in Port-au-Prince, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world's largest multilateral public donor, signed a loan agreement amounting to 3 million euros (± 230 million Gourdes) with Action for the Cooperation with Microenterprise (ACME in French) to expand access to finance for rural micro-borrowers, as well as for the population living in the areas affected by Hurricane Matthew. This new line of credit from the EIB will finance up to 20,000 micro-loans in Haiti and provide access to credit for disadvantaged populations throughout the country.

The loan was signed under the Caribbean and Pacific Impact Financing Facility (MFICP), a € 40 million lending facility that supports microfinance markets in African countries, Caribbean and Pacific countries to reduce poverty.

With this loan, ACME will be able to expand its customer base, focusing primarily on the needs of micro-borrowers affected by Hurricane Matthew.

"The EIB's increased support to microfinance institutions in the Caribbean region demonstrates our commitment to helping the most vulnerable people access financial services to provide better opportunities for the people of urban and rural areas. Private sector development is key to rebuilding communities after natural disasters and today's loan agreement will be part of the reconstruction project in Haiti [...]" declared EIB Vice President, Van Ballekom at the conclusion of the signing ceremony.

Let's recall that ACME and the EIB are working together since the signing of a first loan of EUR 3 million in 2011 to help Haiti recover from the 2010 earthquake.

Sinior Raymond, CEO of ACME, stressed "6 years later, in the post-Matthew ontext, this new EIB loan will enable ACME not only to continue to better fulfill its mission but also to contribute to the relaunch of the economic activity in the most affected regions."

HL/ HaitiLibre