Oikocredit Mexico

As some of you may know the main reason I am in Mexico is to work for Oikocredit. 

Oikocredit is a dutch based NGO and is one of the largest financiers of the microfinance sector worldwide. It focuses on channelling funds from donors (usually private donors or churches) to local Microfinance Institutions in developing countries. MFIs are financial institution that provide small loans to micro-entrepreneurs who are excluded from the traditional banking sector. 

Oikocredit invests in projects that engage in  "socially responsible" activities, deal in fair trade or are run by women. The idea is that the provision of affordable capital (credit) to micro-entrepreneurs should help them to develop their business and get out of poverty.

Oikocredit has a small office in Mexico City, run by a guy called Jose who is in his late 30s and spent one year in London at LSE - so we have that in common! He has one staff working for him called Monica who is from Costa Rica but married to a Mexican. These are the two people I work with. 

I have been working for 4 days now. Right from the start we discussed how I could get involved. My aim is to contribute as best I can but also to learn and get exposed to as many issues as possible; this is my time to be a knowledge sponge! 

Jose has two projects in Mexico that he would like me to work on ; one is working with a coffee plantation in the North and the other is to work with an agricultural cooperative in the South. They are currently under-staffed so there should be plenty of opportunities for me to get involved. 

As a good way to get things started I suggested i write a relatively general document on Microfinance in Mexico with an emphasis on Oikocredit's activities in the region. I should have that done by Tuesday. 

So that's work for now.