OPIC and Global Communities Celebrate Seven Years of Successful Support to Entrepreneurs in Lebanon
November 3, 2014
(OPIC)
Washington, DC – Global Communities and the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) are pleased to celebrate the completion of a 2007-signed Loan
Guaranty Facility in Lebanon, in which OPIC provided a seven-year guaranty to
four partner banks in Lebanon, to encourage lending during a period of economic
instability following the war in 2006.
Throughout the life of the guaranty facility, Vitas s.a.l., Global Communities’
microfinance institution in Lebanon, made over 36,000 loans worth over $69.5
million dollars to underserved entrepreneurs and households. Of this total
amount, just over $600,000 was required to cover defaulted loans, an amount
which comes to only 0.8% of total loans made. The impact of the facility goes
far beyond just the numbers; however, in jobs created and lives improved. In
addition, this facility sparked a new phase of innovation and partnership
between Global Communities and OPIC, with a total of four additional loan
guaranty facilities being signed between the two institutions between 2007 and
2014, including a second facility in Lebanon last year.
“OPIC has been an invaluable partner in our quest to expand outreach in the
places where we lend,” says Elissa McCarter, Vice President of Development
Finance at Global Communities and CEO of Vitas Group. “They have seen
opportunity where others have seen risk – from Lebanon to Iraq to the West Bank,
Egypt and Jordan, they have helped us get funding out to the entrepreneurs and
households when they most desperately need it. Their long-term investments, such
as this guaranty and the others that have come since, are what allow us to have
a real, continued impact in the communities where we work.”
“Today marks a terrific milestone. Through OPIC’s partnership with Global
Communities, over 36,000 loans have been made to Lebanese small and medium
enterprises, supporting tens of thousands of jobs during a challenging economic
period,” said Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO. “Building on our
excellent cooperation with Global Communities on SME lending in the region, this
partnership has not only supported entrepreneurship and job growth in Lebanon,
but also advanced the capacity of local lending institutions to continue this
important work going forward. Increasing access to finance is one of the
foundations of economic growth in emerging markets, and OPIC alongside Global
Communities has addressed this challenge head-on in Lebanon. This is yet another
example of a well-structured project that advances OPIC’s development mission
while returning money to U.S. taxpayers.”
ABOUT VITAS S.A.L
Vitas s.a.l. was founded by Global Communities in 1999 as a micro-credit program
and is now a leading microfinance institution in Lebanon. Vitas became a
shareholding company in 2003, and in 2007 registered with the Central Bank of
Lebanon to become the first Lebanese financial institution specializing in
microfinance. In 2012, the company’s entry to Vitas Group and resulting
investment capital enabled it to expand direct lending capacities, thereby
drastically increasing their ability to bring commercial capital to low-income
communities who are underserved by traditional financial markets. For more
information visit www.vitaslebanon.com or www.vitasgroup.com.
ABOUT GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
Global Communities is an international non-profit organization founded in 1952
that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes
that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. Global Communities
began working in Lebanon in 1999, and believes that the people who understand
their needs best are the people of the community itself. Learn more at www.globalcommunities.org.
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.