MíCrédito services a growing urban market for micro-loans in Nicaragua. At the same time, MiCrédito is developing a rural clientele, with loan terms tailored to farmers. MiCrédito reaches out to borrowers by word-of-mouth advertising based on the strong reputation of its well-known credit officers. MíCrédito treats its clients with respect and offers them excellent service, both in the office and in the field. This microfinance institution’s success so far has been due to its ability to offer quick credit decisions and competitive interest rates. Find out more about MíCrédito by visiting its website.

MíCrédito’s Values

• Compromise      
  
• Innovation         
  
• Honesty             
  
• Respect              
  
• Transparency       
  
• Discipline          
  
• Responsibility    
  
• Ethics                
  
• Loyalty
  

• At MiCredito, every borrower is checked against two credit bureaus, TransUnion and SinRiesgo, for outstanding debt, including loans taken out for cars, store merchandise, and any loans from other microfinance institutions.
• The guarantor of the loan is also checked for outstanding debt.
• The borrower must have been in their business for at least a year.
• The borrower must have a national identification card.
• The borrower must have a guarantor.
• The borrower must have collateral (e.g. cow, refrigerator, sewing machine, etc.) equal to the amount of the loan. 
  

Veronica Herrera, Executive Director of MiCredito says, “the goal is to reach more entrepreneurs and offer them better service in rural and urban zones. MiCredito is the first microfinance institution in Nicaragua using this mobile communication technology to enhance credit services, and it will be a great benefit to underserved sectors.”

Javier Gomez, Microfinance Consultant for TransUnion

Javier Gomez, a microfinance consultant for TransUnion says, “TransUnion is the world leader in this field, and with experience in over 50 countries, enables practices in its associate countries to improve the mechanisms of loan placement, new product launches, and in this case using data enabled telephone devices to make consultations. MiCredito’s need to enhance their different products coincided with TransUnion’s recent launch of Mobil Consultation, and it is the first microfinance institution in Nicaragua to work with their clients in such an efficient way, allowing loans to be approved within 24 hours and without a guarantor.”

Loan officer Dayana Bravo says, “In my opinion the use of phones for mobile consultations makes my work much easier. With this technology I will only have to visit the client, check the Internet through the phone, verify the client’s credit history, evaluate it, and done! I already have one new client in my portfolio.”

With this innovation that MiCredito has developed, loan officers are more productive, efficient and effective when addressing client needs.