Hope Congo is a microfinance institution located in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo that began operating in May, 2010. A faith-based organization that provides financial services and training to bolster the physical, moral and spiritual health of poor people in the Republic of the Congo, HOPE Congo is part of HOPE International, an NGO that works in the microfinance sector in 14 countries worldwide.

The mission of HOPE Congo is to invest in the enterprises of poor and underprivileged people to help them live more securely. In so doing, HOPE Congo plans to improve living conditions of the population of the Republic of the Congo, empower its citizens, and bridge the gap between formal and informal financial services.

Through the creation of community banks with a group guarantee, HOPE Congo provides savings, credit, and educational services to its clients. These services will nourish a culture of saving and an independent community of responsible and self-sustaining entrepreneurs.

HOPE Congo is Kiva’s first partner in the Republic of the Congo. Despite being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world due to its oil wealth, Congo-Brazzaville’s GNI per capita was $2810 in 2008 (World Bank Group), and the average life expectancy languishes in the low 50s (UNDP, 2009). With infrastructure and agricultural production yet to recover from the civil war that wracked the country during the late 1990s-early 2000s, an estimated 33% of the Republic of the Congo’s inhabitants are undernourished (World Food Programme, 2009.

With its community-banking methodology, HOPE Congo will not only provide credit services, but encourage the community of entrepreneurs in Brazzaville to come together and support one another. It is through solidarity and the hard work of HOPE Congo’s staff members, that HOPE Congo’s mission: “to improve living conditions of the population of the Republic of the Congo, empower its citizens, and bridge the gap between formal and informal financial services” will be achieved.

As a start-up organization, HOPE Congo would usually not qualify for partnership with Kiva as our selection criteria does not allow for it. This case, however, is unique as Kiva has been able to negotiate a full institutional guarantee with HOPE International (based in the US) to protect against institutional risk. This guarantee structure is a new arrangement that Kiva is starting to explore in challenging countries such as the Congo.

Additionally, because HOPE Congo is a start-up institution, Kiva has not been able to use existing financial audits to verify the portfolio yield and profitability of the institution. We have, however, discussed their plans and pricing structure with the field staff, and as soon as we are able to provide audited figures to Kiva lenders we will do so on this page.

We are excited to have an opportunity to help support the Congo's burgeoning microfinance sector through this unique partnership.