MICROENTERPRISE 

RESULTS REPORTING

JUNE 2014

This report presents the progress of USAID’s Microenterprise 

development efforts for Fiscal Year 2013.

Annual Microenterprise Results Report 

to Congress for Fiscal Year 2013
This report presents the progress of 

USAID’s microenterprise development 

efforts for Fiscal Year 2013.

Date of Publication: August 2014

Cover Photo: By partnering with Angaza, a technology company 

that offers pay-as-you-go solutions for electric power, USAID 

is helping to meet the demand for energy in off-grid markets 

in Africa, enabling clients to access affordable electricity. 

Rechargeable lights, such as the one shown here, are helping to 

change lives in rural communities by enabling the poor to access 

electricity on terms they can afford, opening up new opportunities 

for the growth of microenterprises. CREDIT: ANGAZA

Back Cover Photo: In Rwanda, 83 percent of the population lives 

without grid electricity. The pay-as-you go approach used by Azuri 

Technologies, which connects people to finance through mobile 

phones, allows users to purchase new, clean energy at affordable 

prices. CREDIT: AZURI TECHNOLOGIES 
1

Throughout the developing world, millions of poor, marginalized people are taking their first steps 

into the global marketplace by owning and operating a microenterprise. Many of these businesses are 

operated by women and youth living in extreme poverty, relying upon a microenterprise as their sole 

source of income. They may not even consider themselves to be the owners of enterprises, but that 

is exactly what they are.

Unfortunately, not all of these microentrepreneurs have the skills and resources needed to succeed 

in an increasingly globalized economy. Many are subsistence farmers, migrant workers, and a growing 

class of urban poor who must compete with cheaper goods and services produced thousands of miles 

away, beyond their national borders. They often lack the training needed to be competitive, and they face 

larger challenges that are beyond their control, including a lack of roads and electricity, challenging trade 

and regulatory environments, and vulnerability to both man-made and natural disasters. While these 

challenges seem daunting, they are not insurmountable. 

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama pledged that the United States “will join with 

our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades.” Responding to this call, USAID 

recently updated its mission statement, stating “We partner to end extreme poverty and to promote 

resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.” If the world is to achieve 

this ambitious yet obtainable goal, the world’s poorest will need to be able to participate in and benefit 

from economic growth. At USAID, we have been working on this challenge by addressing the obstacles 

that limit economic inclusion for the poor. Through the Feed the Future initiative, we are working to 

facilitate inclusive markets that link poor producers to markets for their products. By working alongside 

the private sector through our Development Credit Authority loan guarantees, we are helping to extend 

credit to aspiring entrepreneurs who might not otherwise qualify for a loan. At the same time, we are 

working with the private sector to ensure greater client protection and develop new financial products 

that meet the needs of poor households. We are also working to harness the transformative power 

of mobile technologies to extend financial inclusion well beyond the reach of traditional banks.

Through this year’s Microenterprise Results Report, we take stock of microenterprise investments 

made throughout the Agency. At the same time, we would like to highlight a few of the key successes 

of USAID’s long-term involvement in the sector. From the Agency’s instrumental role in supporting 

the foundation of the microfinance industry, which is increasingly less reliant upon donor support, 

to developing inclusive value chains that increase household incomes while improving food security 

and resilience, we are pleased to showcase the microenterprise work that is being delivered throughout 

the world on behalf of the American people.

Sincerely,

Eric G. Postel

Assistant Administrator

Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3)

U.S. Agency for International Development 
2

DCA Development Credit Authority

E3 Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment

FY Fiscal Year

MFI Microfinance Institution

MPEP Office of Microenterprise and Private Enterprise Promotion

MRAA Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004

MRR Microenterprise Results Reporting

PAT Poverty Assessment Tool

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 U.S. Agency for International 

Development (USAID) Microenterprise Results Report 

responds to the annual reporting requirements of 

the Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act 

of 2004. The report was compiled by the Office of 

Microenterprise and Private Enterprise Promotion 

(MPEP) in the Bureau for Economic Growth, 

Education, and Environment (E3), utilizing 

a team of consultants (DevTech Systems). 

From November 2013 through January 2014, the 

survey team collected data from 52 USAID Missions 

and USAID/Washington operating units. Subsequently, 

the team collected feedback from 101 implementing 

partners who carried out USAID’s technical assistance 

in FY2013. Of the approximately $250 million that USAID 

invested in microenterprise development activities, 

the survey was able to capture data on approximately 

90 percent of the funding, or $226 million. 

LIST OF ACRONYMS

ABOUT THE REPORT
3

Introduction 1 

Overview 4 

Building Inclusive Markets (Feature) 7

Ending Extreme Poverty 8

Serving Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia 9

Reaching the Most Vulnerable 10

Performance Results 11

Birth of an Industry (Feature) 12

Harnessing the Power of Partnership 13

Credit for Chocolate (Feature) 15

Additional Information 15

Annex A: MRAA Reporting Requirements 16

TABLE OF CONTENTS

USAID Africa Bureau. Fishing port in Tema, Ghana CREDIT: USAID/A. Kauffeld
4

USAID has a long and rich history supporting 

microenterprise development around the world. 

In the 1980s, the Agency focused on providing 

credit for microenterprise development. In the 

1990s, the focus shifted toward building healthy 

financial institutions that could make microlending 

a sustainable activity, independent of donor support. 

In the early 2000s, as the industry became more 

established, with unprecedented outreach throughout the developing world, the focus again shifted, 

this time toward establishing demand-driven credit, 

savings, insurance, and payment services to help 

poor households manage risk. 

Today, the Agency is working to leverage its efforts 

with private sector investors in order to maximize 

development impact and enable the poor to benefit 

from economic growth. Programming today has 

evolved into a more comprehensive approach that 

seeks to build inclusive markets that benefit the poor. 

WHERE WE WORK

Microenterprise development has become deeply 

integrated throughout USAID’s programming. In 

FY2013, 52 USAID Missions and USAID/Washington 

offices reported involvement in microenterprise 

development. Their funding was programmed 

through 125 new and existing agreements including 

grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts, 

with 86 primary implementing partners.1

 Of this 

funding, $4.3 million was programmed through 

USAID/Washington’s office of Microenterprise and 

Private Enterprise Promotion (MPEP).2

 The majority 

of microenterprise activity ($222 million) took place 

through USAID Mission-level obligations. Chart 1 

illustrates the regional distribution of USAID’s

microenterprise funding, with significant 

investments in Asia ($86 million) and Africa 

($62 million). 

OVERVIEW

A citrus vendor in Mozambique’s Beira Corridor using simple mobile technology to access market information and improve market linkages. CREDIT: CNFA

1 Microenterprise Results Reporting (MRR) Requirement 1. See Annex A for a list of all MRR Requirements. 

 A list of all microenterprise recipients is provided in Annex I at www.mrreporting.org.

2 MRR Requirement 2.
Chart 2 - Obligations 

by Program Objective, FY2013

92%

5%

2%

Governing Justly 

And Democratically

Peace and Security

Humanitarian 

Assistance

Economic Growth

Investing 

in People

Total $226.5 million

0.5% 0.5%

5

Chart 1 - FY2013 Overseas Funding by Region

($US millions)

Europe and Eurasia

Middle East

Latin America 

and Caribbean

Africa

Asia

$0 $22.5 million $45 million $67.5 million $90 million

$13 million

$29 million

$32 million

$62 million

USAID Region

$86 million

SOURCES OF FUNDING

USAID uses funding from a number of 

programmatic areas to simultaneously fulfill 

objectives in those sectors and meet the Agency’s 

microenterprise goals. Chart 2 shows the different 

Program Objectives that contributed to 

microenterprise development in FY2013. While 

USAID has some involvement with microenterprise 

development across all of its major Program Objectives, 

Economic Growth is the predominant source 

of microenterprise development, encompassing 

92 percent of microenterprise funding. 
6

DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

USAID uses several different approaches to 

promote microenterprise development, including 

a broad range of activities aimed at increasing 

access to microfinance, markets, and resources 

for the poor in the developing world. Chart 4 

displays the broad categories in which USAID 

engages in microenterprise development. In 

FY2013, agricultural value chain development 

was the most prevalent approach, accounting 

for nearly one-third of USAID’s microenterprise 

activities. Microfinance now comprises 16 percent 

of the Agency’s engagement in the sector, as 

initiatives such as Feed the Future have helped 

to steer much of the microenterprise focus toward 

agricultural value chain development. 

PROGRAM AREAS

Within the Economic Growth Program Objective, 

several Program Areas contribute to the Agency’s 

microenterprise development efforts. For 

example, agriculture, comprising 69 percent of 

microenterprise programming under Economic 

Growth, demonstrates the influence of the Feed 

the Future initiative, the U.S. Government’s global 

hunger and food security initiative, which in recent 

years has become the focus of much of USAID’s 

Economic Growth programming. Economic 

Opportunity and Private Sector Competitiveness 

were other Program Areas with notable 

microenterprise attributions. See Chart 3 for 

a breakdown of economic growth obligations 

by Program Area. 

Chart 4 - Approaches to 

Microenterprise Development, FY2013

32%

16%

21%

12%

8%

8%

3%

Enabling 

Environment

Non-Agricultural 

Value Chain 

Development

Other

Economic 

Strengthening

Agricultural Value 

Chain Development

Microfinance

Mobile Finance

Chart 3 - Obligations 

by Program Area, FY2013

69% Agriculture

12%

14%

Economic 

Opportunity

Private Sector 

Competitiveness

2% 1% 1% 1%

Trade and Investment Financial Sector

Environment Infrastructure

Total $208.1 million
7

USAID advances market-driven approaches that link 

microenterprises with markets for their products 

and services, leading to stable sources of income 

for rural households. In Timor-Leste, market research 

has demonstrated that demand for fresh produce 

far outstrips supply, with retailers depending upon 

costly and unreliable imports from elsewhere in 

the region. USAID is helping to change this by 

connecting farmer groups with private sector buyers 

who are willing to pay a premium for high-end 

produce. Inclusive agriculture-sector growth is a key 

aspect of the Feed the Future initiative, and helps 

to support greater gender integration and improved 

nutrition in targeted communities.

CONNECTING BUYERS...

USAID works with local supermarket chains to 

facilitate agreements with farmers to improve the 

quality and reliability of local products. Each day, 

retailers send refrigerated trucks to agricultural 

communities to buy the products that farmers 

picked that morning. In the afternoon, these 

products can be found on the shelves of local 

supermarkets in Dili, the nation’s capital. In addition 

to alleviating the need for farmers to transport and 

store their products, retailers provide farmers with 

valuable inputs, including seed and fertilizer, that 

would otherwise be difficult to obtain in rural areas.

...WITH PRODUCERS

Farmers appreciate this model, which allows them to 

focus on improving quality and increasing their levels 

of production. Working closely with USAID project staff, 

they have learned to utilize advanced farming techniques, 

such as drip irrigation and plastic tunnels to produce 

the high-quality products that local retailers require. 

Some farmers have received microloans to expand their 

use of these technologies. Many of these producers were 

once subsistence farmers, but now they have reliable 

streams of income and are diversifying their diets 

thanks to an ample supply of fresh vegetables.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: 

BUILDING INCLUSIVE 

MARKETS IN TIMOR-LESTE

Build Local 

Capacity

CREDIT (ALL PHOTOS ON PAGE): USAID/Timor-Leste
8

“We partner to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic 

societies while advancing our security and prosperity.” 

–USAID Mission Statement

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President 

Obama pledged that the “United States will join 

with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty 

in the next two decades.” USAID’s microenterprise 

programming plays a crucial role in helping to 

achieve this ambitious, yet obtainable goal. 

MEASURING POVERTY

Utilizing poverty measurement tools, USAID’s 

programs are able to estimate the percentage of funds

benefiting the very poor (the poorest 50 percent 

of populations living below the poverty line 

established by a given country, or those living on

less than $1.25 per day). By using a poverty 

measurement tool, an implementing partner can gain 

an accurate estimate of the share of its beneficiaries 

who are very poor. Since 2007, USAID has developed 

Poverty Assessment Tools (PATs) for 37 countries. 

Other poverty measures, such as the Grameen 

Foundation’s Progress out of Poverty Index, may 

also be used for assessing poverty in a given 

geographical area. No new PATs were developed 

in FY2013, but USAID continued to support the 

application of existing PATs by maintaining 

a help desk, which provided advice and consultation 

for PAT users.3

Nine implementing partners used poverty 

assessment measures in FY2013; 66 percent 

of their funding was programmed for activities 

focused on reaching the very poor. By multiplying 

the share of funds benefiting the very poor4

 by the 

total number of beneficiaries in FY2013 (788,402), 

USAID estimates approximately 520,345 very 

poor people benefited from microenterprise 

development assistance in FY2013.5 

USAID’s Tanzania Agriculture Productivity Program not only 

transfers good agricultural practices to smallholder farmers, 

but also shares vital market information on price trends to help 

farmers know when to sell for competitive prices. © FINTRAC INC

ENDING EXTREME POVERTY

3 MRR Requirement 8 

4 MRR Requirement 6

5 MRR Requirement 7 
Create 

Sustainable 

Institutions

9

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: 

SERVING SMALLHOLDER 

FARMERS IN ETHIOPIA

USAID supports the establishment of farm service 

centers that can serve as one-stop shops for 

smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. These centers 

allow microentrepreneurs to access high-quality 

inputs and services. Farmers also receive training 

that enables them to sustainably increase their 

productivity and household income. Sales clerks 

are trained with the knowledge and skills to 

respond to their customers’ needs and questions, 

and trained agronomists and veterinarians offer 

expert technical advice. 

Some of these one-stop shops allow smallholder 

farmers to consult with agronomists and veterinarians 

who offer expert technical advice and training to 

help improve on-farm productivity and access to 

end-markets.

USAID support is helping to solidify relationships 

between smallholder farmers and service providers 

so that obtaining quality inputs and technical advice 

becomes a normal part of the production cycle. 

Dawit Wondimu, the trained and staffed agronomist at the 

Bishoftu Farm Service Center, shakes hands with Minda Ayalew, 

a smallholder farmer who came to the center to get advice 

on what herbicide to use and how best to use it.

Minda Ayalew, a smallholder farmer and customer of the Bishoftu 

Farm Service Center, shows off his tomato production that 

resulted from improved access to essential agricultural inputs 

and expert consultation services. “It was a great season,” Minda 

says. “The production is much more than I expected.” Helping 

smallholder farmers increase their yields achieves one of the major 

objectives of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative — 

combating food insecurity and hunger in developing nations. 

Above: Sales clerks Hiwot Tefera and Beyenech Gossaye stand 

ready to welcome customers at the newly opened Bishoftu Farm 

Service Center in Ethiopia. This is one of six centers established 

through USAID/Ethiopia’s Commercial Farm Service Program. 

CREDIT (ALL PHOTOS ON PAGE): CNFA ETHIOPIA COMMERCIAL FARM SERVICE 

PROGRAM (CFSP)
10

REACHING THE MOST 

VULNERABLE

VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Microenterprise assistance reaches some of the

most vulnerable in the societies in which we work.

Through its microenterprise development 

assistance, USAID assists victims or potential victims 

of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and women 

who are victims of or are susceptible to other forms

of exploitation and violence. In FY2013, an estimated 

$41.3 million was reported as targeted toward these 

victims and potential victims of human trafficking.6

POVERTY AND RACE/ETHNICITY

In many parts of the world, skin color can be 

a major predictor of a person’s socioeconomic 

status and his or her potential for employment in 

the formal sector. Microenterprise development helps 

to level that playing field by empowering those 

disadvantaged groups that often find themselves 

at the bottom of the development pyramid. Through

the operation of microenterprises, minority groups 

can find opportunity that may not be easily obtained 

through their country’s more formal systems. In 

FY2013, an estimated 56 percent7

 of beneficiaries 

of USAID microenterprise development activities 

lived in countries where there was a strong 

relationship between race or ethnicity and poverty.8

6 MRR Requirement 9

7 Visit www.mrreporting.org for a full list of annexes and information on how significant 

 relationships between poverty and race/ethnicity were determined.

8 MRR Requirement 10 

With training in agricultural production and distribution, farmers are making real changes in their incomes and reducing their exposure to poverty. 

CREDIT: WILLIAM CREIGHTON/DAI
11

* To avoid double counting, the number of borrowers and savers is based on the larger of the two from each project 

 that reported having microfinance clients who are both borrowers and savers. Actual numbers are likely higher.

**Goals are based on programmatic information from the Missions included in the FY2013 reporting cycle.9

USAID has been fairly successful at targeting women and rural clients through microlending and savings 

programs. This reporting year, the total number of borrowers and savers reached fell short of the annual goals. 

A likely explanation is the increased focus on agricultural development. Many microenterprise programs no 

longer focus exclusively on microfinance; instead, they place considerably greater attention on developing 

inclusive value chains. USAID also has increased emphasis on private capital mobilization and private 

sector engagement, rather than donor capital, to support microfinance institutions (MFIs) and to finance 

microenterprise activities which are not captured in this report.

FY2013 GOALS FY2013 RESULTS

Number of microenterprise clients who are 

borrowers (Out of 14 projects) 1,250,000 788,402

% Women 60% 69%

% Rural 40% 49%

Number of microenterprise clients who are 

savers (Out of 6 projects) 1,750,000 243,709

% Women 60% 89%

% Rural 40% 97%

Total number of microenterprise

borrowers and savers* 1,750,000 788,402

Number of microenterprises supported 

directly by partners (Out of 96 projects) 400,000 407,570

% Women 40% 48%

% Rural 75% 82%

Total number of microenterprise employees 500,000 1,106,876

% USAID microfinance partners that 

achieved sustainability (Out of 14 partners) 50% 86%

% of funds benefiting the very poor 

(Representing $150.5 million FY2013 funding)** 50% 66%

Performance Results, FY2013

9 MRR Requirement 11
Achieve 

Transformative 

Results

12

BIRTH OF AN INDUSTRY

USAID’S ROLE IN THE CREATION OF 

SUSTAINABLE MICROFINANCE

The Kenya Rural Enterprise Program

Early microfinance successes proved that microfinance 

providers could become profitable banks. In one example, 

the Kenya Rural Enterprise Program (K-REP) started in 

1984 as a USAID/Kenya project. With support from USAID, 

the program became an nongovernmental organization in 

1987 and transformed into the first regulated microfinance 

bank in Africa in 1999. By providing a model and resource 

organization for other MFIs in Kenya and other countries in 

Africa, and convincing central banks to change their policies 

and regulatory frameworks, the bank helped pave the way 

to make financial services available to millions of low-income 

households, microentrepreneurs, and rural smallholders 

throughout Africa. 

In 2012, K-REP bank’s microlending portfolio included 

23,719 borrowers, 145,288 depositors, and a gross loan 

portfolio of more than $87 million. Kimanthi Mutua, K-REP 

Group Chairman and its former managing director, said 

microfinance would not be what it is today in Africa without 

USAID’s funding and support to permit experimentation, 

capacity building, learning, and partnership. (Interview, 

May 15, 2014; www.microlinks.org)

Today, microfinance is considered one of the great 

“game changers” in the developing world. Millions 

of poor households now have access to finance, and 

most urban centers have MFIs and commercial 

banks that offer microloans. The industry increasingly 

attracts private capital, with less reliance on donor 

support. Prior to the 1980s, this was not the case: 

Microentrepreneurs were often locked out of the 

financial system due to their small size and lack 

of collateral, and the financing that was available 

came from usurious lenders or heavily subsidized 

donor-funded projects. USAID played a pivotal 

role in shaping the industry’s transition toward 

a market-driven model that reaches much of the 

developing world.

LET A THOUSAND FLOWERS BLOOM

International interest in microfinance began in 

the 1970s and 1980s. USAID was one of the first 

major donors to recognize the importance of small 

and microenterprises as a source of income and 

employment for the poor, and the role that financial 

services could play in developing those enterprises. 

The Agency’s investments in experimentation 

and learning helped to prove that poor people 

are “bankable,” and led to dialogue and debate 

about best strategies, lending methodologies, 

and delivery channels to reach the poor. In the 

1990s, USAID supported the transition of MFIs, such 

as BancoSol in Bolivia and K-REP in Kenya, as they 

became more established commercial banks. 

These efforts resulted in an industry shift from 

donor grants to private capital. In the late 1990s and

early 2000s, as the microfinance sector matured 

and competition increased, MFIs began to 

distinguish themselves through broader product 

offerings that included housing loans, savings 

products, insurance, and remittance services. 

USAID supported these organizations in developing 

these new products while helping to shape policy 

and regulatory frameworks that enabled the birth 

and growth of sustainable financial institutions 

serving low-income communities. 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

USAID now focuses on how microfinance can be 

integrated with other services and needs, such as 

health, agriculture, energy, and education, to better 

serve poor households. Technology-driven delivery 

channels and private sector partnerships offer 

great promise for further increasing the scale of the 

industry’s reach. Client protection and improved 

financial literacy have now become important 

considerations in the fight to end extreme poverty. 
13

HARNESSING THE POWER 

OF PARTNERSHIP

Ending extreme poverty will not be easy and will 

require the efforts of USAID working alongside other

donors, implementing partners, host-country 

governments, and the private sector. Together, we have 

a real opportunity to improve the lives of the poor.

DEVELOPMENT CREDIT 

AUTHORITY (DCA)

Over the past two decades, private capital inflows to 

the developing world have dwarfed contributions 

from the donor community. The challenge for 

donors has become less about stimulating private 

sector activity and more about helping the poor 

to benefit from private sector-led growth in their 

countries. One way that USAID is mobilizing private 

capital is through loan guarantees. USAID’s Office 

of Development Credit enables an increased capital 

base for microfinance lending by providing partial 

loan guarantees to financial institutions. These 

guarantees encourage lenders, such as commercial 

banks, to extend credit to MFIs by mitigating a 

portion of the real or perceived risk of such lending. 

In turn, the loans allow the MFIs to expand their 

portfolios. Guarantees have also played a more 

direct role, encouraging commercial banks or MFIs 

to lend to microenterprises in the agricultural sector.

USAID’s active microfinance credit guarantees 

have the potential to leverage up to $563 million in 

private sector credit to MFIs and microenterprises 

globally.10 In FY2013 alone, eight new guarantees

were put in place that could leverage up to 

$41.7 million in private sector credit to MFIs 

and microenterprises.11

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

USAID carries out its microenterprise assistance 

through a wide array of implementing partners 

and funding mechanisms. Of the $226 million in 

microenterprise development funding recorded 

in the FY2013 survey, 28 percent ($63.4 million) 

was obligated through contracts. The remaining 

72 percent ($163 million) was obligated through 

noncontract mechanisms (i.e., cooperative 

agreements and grants). 

Nonprofit partners were the direct recipients of 

45 percent of total obligated funding. For-profit 

consulting firms were the direct recipients of 

36 percent of total obligated microenterprise 

funding; other for-profit institutions such as 

banks and non-bank financial institutions received 

19 percent. Combined, for-profit entities received 

55 percent of FY2013 obligated funding for 

microenterprise development.12 

SUB-RECIPIENTS

USAID’s implementing partners frequently use 

USAID funding to make sub-awards in the form of 

grants or contracts. These types of awards enhance 

USAID’s ability to involve smaller partners and 

local organizations that may bring specific skills 

and expertise in a particular area but may not be 

appropriate for implementing a large-scale activity. 

These organizations frequently have strong ties 

to local communities and a deep understanding 

of the cultural context in which they serve. Of the 

$164 million sub-obligated to 525 institutions, 

$105 million was provided in the form of grants 

under contract. This important mechanism allows 

for-profit contractors to extend grants to other 

entities, often local, in-country partners.

MATCHING ASSISTANCE

USAID also partners with other entities to leverage 

resources for microenterprise development. In FY2013,

$71 million of USAID’s microenterprise funds were 

supplemented by an additional $26 million from 

other sources, such as private donors, multilateral 

funding, commercial and concessional borrowing, 

savings, and program income. 10 A list of all DCA guarantees related to microenterprise development 

 is provided in Annex T, located online at www.mrreporting.org.

11 MRR Requirement 3 

12 MRR Requirement 4
14

CREDIT FOR CHOCOLATE

The San Martín region 

of Peru is dotted with 

small family farms amid 

a beautiful Amazonian 

backdrop. It is also poor, 

with more than a third of 

the population living below 

the poverty line. Though 

illicit crops, including coca, 

are grown in the region, 

viable alternatives, such 

as cocoa for chocolate, 

are showing great promise.

Flavio García Velázquez is one of 12,000 residents 

of San Martín’s San Jose de Sisa district, a 12-hour 

drive north from Peru’s capital, Lima. He lives with 

his wife and they have two daughters and two 

sons. Flavio used to grow corn and raise livestock, 

but he struggled to make a decent living. His family 

would make only $230 per harvest for every twoand-a-half acres of corn. 

To improve his situation, Flavio needed to find 

a way to borrow money. He approached Caja 

Maynas’ regional banking branch in 2011 and 

qualified for a $2,145 loan for his farm. The bank 

took what was considered a major risk on the 

Velázquez family because the loans it offered 

to local farmers were guaranteed by USAID’s DCA. 

Flavio used his financing for a new plot of land, 

a storage facility for his crop, an addition to 

his home, and fertilizer. His annual income has 

quadrupled as a result of these investments. 

Flavio has since repaid his loan in full. 

Since being introduced in 1999, DCA 

guarantees have unlocked $839 million for 

lending to microenterprises, enabling 125,536 

microentrepreneurs to obtain financing, with 

a default rate of only 2 percent. 
15

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This report responds to the annual reporting 

requirements of the Microenterprise Results and 

Accountability Act of 2004. It was compiled using 

data obtained from a two-stage survey process. 

In Phase I, the survey team reached out to more 

than 90 USAID Missions and USAID/Washington 

offices to obtain Mission-level information. The 

survey captures approximately 90 percent of all 

Mission-level obligations. In Phase II, the survey 

team reached out to USAID implementing partners 

who were identified during Phase I as recipients of 

microenterprise funding. Approximately 80 percent 

of all microenterprise funding was captured at the 

partner level.

To limit the report’s length and reduce costs, 

supporting data, including additional annexes, 

are available online at www.mrreporting.org.

The website enables users to view in-depth 

information, explore data, access previous reports, 

compare information across years, and review 

a complete list of implementing partners who 

received microenterprise funding. 

To connect with microenterprise development 

practitioners, share knowledge, keep up with the 

latest news, and learn about important industry 

events, please visit USAID’s inclusive economic growth 

portal, Microlinks, at www.microlinks.org.13 

13 MRR Requirement 12

Mobile phone banking in the Philippines. 

CREDIT: MICROENTERPRISE ACCESS TO BANKING SERVICES 

(MABS) PROJECT, CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL
16

 ANNEX A:  MRAA REPORTING  REQUIREMENTS

1 Funding: The number of grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, contributions, or other forms of assistance provided 

under section 252 (the section of the law authorizing USAID to provide microenterprise assistance), with a listing of:

A) The amount of each grant, cooperative agreement, contract, contribution, or other form of assistance.

B) The name of each recipient and each developing country with respect to which projects or activities under the 

 grant, cooperative agreement, contract, contribution, or other form of assistance were carried out.

C) A listing of the number of countries receiving assistance authorized by section 252.

2 Central Mechanisms: The amount of assistance provided under section 252 through central mechanisms.

3 DCA: The name of each country that receives assistance under section 256 (the section of the law pertaining to the 

DCA and credit instruments) and the amount of such assistance.

 4 USAID Funding Recipients: The level of funding provided through contracts; the level of funding provided through 

grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements that is estimated to be subgranted or subcontracted, as the case may 

be, to direct service providers; and an analysis of the comparative cost-effectiveness and sustainability of projects 

carried out under these mechanisms.

 5 Matching Assistance: It is the sense of Congress that USAID should include in the report required by section 258 of the 

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 6 of this Act) a description of all matching assistance (as described in 

paragraph 1) provided for the prior year by recipients of microenterprise development assistance under such title. 

 6 Funds for Very Poor Clients: The percentage of assistance furnished under section 252 that was allocated to the 

very poor, based on the data collected using the certified methods required by section 254 (the section of the 

law outlining the requirement for USAID to develop client poverty assessment methods and require their use by 

awardees by October 2006).

 7 Estimated Number of the Very Poor: This number is reached with assistance provided under section 252.

8 Poverty Assessment Methods: The process of developing and applying poverty assessment procedures required 

under section 254.

9 Funds to Assist Victims of Trafficking and Exploitation: Information on the efforts of the Agency to ensure that 

recipients of U.S. microenterprise and microfinance development assistance work closely with nongovernmental 

organizations and foreign governments to identify and assist victims or potential victims of severe forms of 

trafficking in persons, and women who are victims of or susceptible to other forms of exploitation and violence.

10 Poverty and Race/Ethnicity: An estimate of the percentage of beneficiaries of assistance under this title in countries 

where a strong relationship between poverty and race or ethnicity has been demonstrated.

11 Performance Monitoring System: The results of the monitoring system required under section 253 (see A-D below).

A) The monitoring system shall include performance goals for the assistance, and express such goals in an 

 objective and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible.

B) The monitoring system shall include performance indicators to be used in measuring or assessing achievement of

 the performance goals described in paragraph 1, and the objective of the assistance authorized under section 252.

C) The monitoring system provides a basis for recommendations for adjustments to the assistance to enhance 

 the sustainability and the impact of the assistance, particularly the impact of such assistance on the very poor, 

 particularly poor women.

D) The monitoring system adopts the widespread use of proven and effective poverty assessment tools to 

 successfully identify the very poor and ensure that they receive adequate access to microenterprise loans, 

 savings, and assistance.

12 Additional Information: Any additional information relating to the provision of assistance authorized by this title, 

including the use of poverty assessment methods required by section 254, or additional information on assistance 

provided by the United States to support microenterprise development under this title or any other provision of law.

 MICROENTERPRISE RESULTS REPORTING - FISCAL YEAR 2013 All additional annexes and supporting data listed at 

http://www.mrreporting.org

U.S. Agency for International Development

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington DC 20523

Tel: (202) 712-0000

Fax: (202) 216-3524

www.usaid.gov