US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA1657

UNCLAS BOGOTA 001657 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO OPIC,LOREN RODWIN, SENIOR INVESTMENT 
OFFICER, STRUCTURED FINANCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV, CO 
SUBJECT: WOMEN'S WORLD BANKING CALI OPIC APPLICATION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 30469 
 
1. Per reftel, Econoffs reviewed Women,s World Banking Cali 
(WWB) and have found it to be a reputable organization. WWB 
was established in 1982 and is known in Latin America as a 
financially sound microcredit agency. It won the 
Inter-American Development Bank,s Award for Excellence in 
Microfinance in 1999. WWB has aimed at becoming more 
efficient. Compared to other microcredit agencies in Latin 
America, WWB offers a low cost program with a small staff. 
Their program is aimed at helping individual women in the 
poorest levels of society. 
 
2. WWB has already benefited from international assistance. 
Recent loans by USAID, Deutsche Bank and the Interamerican 
Development Bank have helped to raise the number of clients 
to over 49,000 and the loan portfolio to USD 22,231,000.  WWB 
has 12 branches around Colombia with approximately 185 staff 
members. In 2001, 2.2 percent of WWBs average portfolio had 
to be written off. WWB,s operating expense to average loan 
ratio was 11.6 percent in 2002, down from 13.6 percent the 
previous year. To increase confidence in their program, WWB 
offers access to their externally audited financial 
statements. 
 
3. WWB requires no collateral, and loans start at USD 160 
with an average term of 14 months.  Borrowers are charged a 
2.4 percent monthly interest rate and a fee for their credit 
evaluation. Borrowers use loans for commerce (59 percent), 
manufacturing (27 percent) and service delivery (14 percent) 
with most loans under USD 450.  To add flexibility, WWB 
offers various financing options dependent upon borrowers, 
credit histories. 
WOOD