Bangente
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.
Active Borrowers: 49,513
|
Average First Loan: $2,466
|
Amount Loaned: $32,043,000
|
Active Savers: 105,913
|
Active Portfolio: $122,106,000
|
Savings Balance: $120,747
|
Statistics as of February 2013
Background
Under the auspices of a technical assistance agreement, Accion began working to establish Bangente in 1997. Accion's technical assistance team played an integral role in implementing the bank's credit methodology for both solidarity group and individual lending. Bangente, the first commercial bank serving small and microenterprises in Venezuela, opened to the public in February 1999.
Accion has continued to provide technical assistance services 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 the bank's consolidation into a fully functioning credit institution.
Accion continues to support Bangente’s 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 credo 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.
The Bangente foundation offers 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.
|