Mission: The Local Development Fund (FDL) is a non-profit association created by NITLAPAN- UCA, with the purpose of providing financial services to small and medium rural and urban enterprises, to allow them to increase their standard of living and capital.
Specialty: Rural Lending & Lending to Solidarity Groups
Organization Profile: FDL is the largest microfinance institution in Nicaragua. They have 35 branches, reaching out to over 79,000 clients. Their geographic diversity allows the organization to impact both larger Nicaraguan cities, such as Masaya, as well as remote towns, like Cuá-Bocay. FDL focuses mainly on rural families, offering them credit, technical assistance, and training. These financial services not only provide capital to the entrepreneur, but also give the skills necessary to enter into the market and positively impact the local community.
The community impact of FDL does not merely stop at financial aid for rural families. Green Package, a recent program initiated by FDL, focuses on financing investments what will both increase productivity of cattle ranches and positively impact the environment. FDL also makes a special effort to lend to women, recognizing the difficulty many women have in acquiring loans that allow them to achieve independence.
NICA Fund Partner Since: 1999
Borrowers: FDL is lending to 79,534 clients. Of these individuals, 56% are women and 44% are men (as of December 2007).
Lending Portfolio: FDL’s lending portfolio is well-diversified. Its average loan size is $670, with a total lending portfolio of $53,262,115. Agriculture and livestock loans are approximately 45% of FDL’s portfolio, with commerce, small enterprise, and industry at 38%, housing 9%, and consumption 7% (as of December 2007).
Website: http://www.fdl.org.ni/
