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Yes! I want to support microfinance and empower people to work their way out of poverty.
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BanGente
(Banco de la Gente Emprendedora)
Executive President: Juan Uslar
Active Borrowers: 35,049
Active Portfolio: $79,714,000
Average Loan Balance: $2,274
Portfolio at Risk > 30 Days: 2.72%
Savers: 68,838
Savings Balance: $79,702
Statistics as of May 2010
Mission: BanGente is dedicated to ensuring the economic success of the entrepreneurs of Venezuela by providing credit and other financial services to self-employed individuals who, due to the small scale of their businesses, lack access to the traditional banking sector.
History: Under the auspices of a technical assistance agreement, ACCION International began working to establish BanGente in 1997. ACCION's technical assistance team played an integral role in implementing the bank's credit methodology that emphasizes both solidarity group and individual lending. BanGente, the first commercial bank serving small- and micro-enterprises in Venezuela, opened its doors to the public in February 1999.
ACCION's Role: ACCION has continued to provide technical assistance to BanGente, supporting them as they open new offices in cities outside of Caracas. In the early 2000s, ACCION’s technical assistance to BanGente was instrumental in facilitating its consolidation into a fully functioning credit institution. ACCION-developed PortaCreditTM is used by loan officers at BanGente for new products such as auto loans and seasonal loans.
ACCION continues to support BanGente’s microcredit activities, serving on the board of directors and facilitating its collaboration with international associates including Banco del Caribe. ACCION’s technical assistance teams led the development and implementation of BanGente’s credit scoring model, which leverages three different scorecards for client selection, market segmentation, and collections to increase overall efficiency and save cost associated with credit processing.
Borrower Profile: Currently, around 8.5% of Venezuelans are unemployed (CIA World Factbook, 2008). Just over a third of the population lives below the poverty line (CIA World Factbook, 2005). In addition, over 52 percent of the economically active population works in the informal sector. Before BanGente's inception, the demand for microcredit had been virtually unmet as few sources of legal financing were readily available to Venezuela's estimated two million microentrepreneurs.
What's New: The recently created BanGente foundation is offering comprehensive training for technical assistance representatives from all microfinance institutions in Venezuela. The curriculum was designed by ACCION and the first course, on best practices for credit advisors, was conducted by ACCION staff.
Where They Work: Gran Caracas, Zulia, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda, Lara y Vargas.
Program Growth:
|
Year |
Active
Portfolio |
Amount
Loaned |
Active
Borrowers |
Average
Loan Balance |
|
2002 |
$2,925,000 |
$9,304,000 |
6,314 |
$463 |
|
2003 |
$5,957,000 |
$11,526,000 |
7,558 |
$788 |
|
2004 |
$12,589,665 |
$23,045,808 |
13,368 |
$942 |
|
2005 |
$25,985,100 |
$48,347,382 |
29,818 |
$871 |
|
2006 |
$38,990,000 |
$77,945,000 |
32,058 |
$1,216 |
|
2007 |
$66,100,000 |
$108,800,000 |
34,526 |
$1,916 |
|
2008 |
$101,030,000 |
$173,758,000 |
44,358 |
$3,011 |
|
2009 |
$95,837,000 |
$204,051,000 |
35,880 |
$2,671 |
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2010 |
$79,714,000 |
$68,773,000 |
35,049 |
$2,274 |
Contact Information:
BanGente
Av. Romulo Gallego
Edificio R y V piso 3
Urbanizacion los dos Caminos Frente Colegio Madre Emilia
Caracas, VENEZUELA
Tel: (58-212) 6006100 / 6006104
Fax: (58-212) 6006175
Email: juslar@bangente.com.ve
|  | “Each time I take out a larger loan, I surprise myself,” he says. “I never thought I would get this far with my little store.”
Hilso Ramírez
Client of ACCION affiliate BanGente in Caracas, Venezuela |  |
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