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

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Status update — March 1, 2021

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Kiva recently re-assessed the level of risk associated with loans from this Lending Partner. During this process, our analysts gathered updated operational and financial information about the institution, spoke with key members of the staff, and analyzed the Lending Partner’s loan products. As a result, FUNDENUSE's risk rating is now listed as 4.0 stars instead of 2.5 stars. FUNDENUSE has weathered a political crisis and an ongoing global pandemic, all the while remaining committed to their employees and borrowers. They have maintained a healthy portfolio and are positioned for growth.

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Status update — December 12, 2019

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More than a year and a half since the political crisis began in Nicaragua, some stability has returned. Dialogue between the government and civil society has helped in partially resolving the crisis. However, while the government appears to consider the crisis to be over (they've suspended dialogue), many feel the root causes of the crisis remain unaddressed and protests continue. 

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For FUNDENUSE, 2019 has brought renewed portfolio growth and a stabilizing of portfolio quality. Kiva will continue to support FUNDENUSE as they work with their borrowers to recover from the political crisis and subsequent economic downturn. The economy, while declining at almost 4% in 2018, according to the World Bank, has returned to growth, albeit slow, in 2019. Given the ongoing uncertainty, many banks and firms are taking a wait-and-see approach to lending and investment. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2021.

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Status update - February 19, 2019

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Protests started in Nicaragua in late April 2018 against a since-canceled move to cut social security benefits and increase payroll taxes. People have taken to the streets in demonstrations that have called for President Ortega to step down. Unfortunately, these protests have resulted in the loss of life and a partial economic paralyzation of the country. Talks are currently on-going among all parties to resolve the situation peacefully. We have been in contact with our partners and are currently monitoring the situation closely as Kiva borrowers and partner staff have been affected by such political and social unrest. This might result in an increase in delinquency rates since a lot of informal economic activities have come to a complete stop. As more information comes in, we will update lenders accordingly.

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Partner description:

FUNDENUSE is a microfinance institution(MFI) that spun out of the non-profit foundation La Fundación para el Desarrollo de Nueva Segovia in 2012. Today, FUNDENUSE is one of the largest MFIs in Nicaragua and is committed to addressing the problem of financial inclusion in some of Nicaragua’s poorest regions.

A unique lending approach:

FUNDENUSE uses Kiva financing to offer loans in 4 sectors: youth entrepreneurship, water and sanitation, clean technology, and solidarity groups. Since 57% of FUNDENUSE’s clients are women, it is expected that the same percentage of Kiva borrowers will be women.