Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

Status Update — January 19, 2016

Kiva and CEP have agreed to end their partnership after over 4 years and more than $2.6 million in loans raised. This Lending Partner has repaid its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. We thank CEP for the years of collaboration and wish them success in their future endeavors.

Status Update — June 9, 2015
Kiva has moved this Lending Partner to inactive status. This means Capital Aid Fund For Employment Of the Poor is no longer fundraising loans on Kiva, though Kiva fully expects the partner to continue to send repayments owed to Kiva lenders for as long as the partner has an outstanding balance. The reasons a partner might become inactive include: taking time to develop a new type of loan, turnover on the partner’s management team, a shift in overall strategy or changes in funding sources. If and when this partner requests to fundraise again on Kiva, Kiva will first conduct any additional monitoring and due diligence tasks we believe necessary.

Partner Description:

Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (CEP) is a non-profit microfinance institution founded by the Labour Confederation of Ho Chi Minh City in 1991 to create employment and income-generating opportunities for families living in poverty. CEP offers its clients several basic credit and savings products, which are supplemented by programs that provide additional support for these families.

CEP’s core microfinance program offers clients two savings products and two loan products that are used for income-generation. The two loan products are structured for weekly or monthly repayment schedules.

The weekly loan product is targeted at unsalaried labourers with variable and infrequent incomes, while the monthly loan product is tailored to workers who receive a monthly salary but are in need of further income to supplement their income. Both loan products provide clients with capital to invest in micro-enterprises. This investment facilitates sustainable increases in the household income of clients, which, in conjunction with CEP’s financial education programs, can greatly increase the clients’ overall economic well-being.

There are two additional loan products CEP offers its clients: a housing improvement loan and a small business loan. However, these products constitute a very small part of CEP’s loan portfolio and are tied to specific projects.

CEP also provides many non-financial services, which are intended to enhance the impact of CEP’s microfinance program. The first focuses on immediate assistance to clients who are experiencing difficulties, including emergency medical treatments or funeral costs. The organization als provides housing, food and other goods in these instance.

Its second non-financial program focuses on training the communities and individuals that CEP serves. These educational offerings cover health and sanitation, financial literacy with an emphasis on budgeting and saving, and scholarships for children of

clients at risk of leaving school before age 15.

Awards and honors:

In 1998, the government of Vietnam awarded CEP a Third Class Labour Medal for its significant contribution to poverty reduction in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2001, CEP was awarded a Second Class Labour Medal. Most recently, in 2011, it won the First Class Labor Medal for its efforts