Dealflow | April 25, 2017

Agora Partnerships facilitates variable-payment loans in Nicaragua

ImpactAlpha
The team at

ImpactAlpha

Agora Partnerships, a Latin America social-venture accelerator, is facilitating “variable payment obligations,” or VPOs, that tie loan repayment to free cash flow. VPOs help small businesses without fixed assets or loan guarantors get much-needed funds.

For the Nicaragua effort, Agora, backed by USAID and the Argidius Foundation, has joined forces with a local bank, Banco de America Central (BAC) Nicaragua; Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, a VPO pioneer; and Enclude, an international business-advisory firm.

The new program aims to provide business-development services and expand access to finance to women-led small businesses. (see, “Test in Nicaragua Shifts Lending for Women-Led Businesses”).

BAC-Nicaragua approved more than $150,000 in VPO loans last quarter, including more than $100,000 to women-run enterprises.

https://medium.com/media/c982b1e36bcbaf50b255e8936f0dd37f/href