Unleash
Entrepreneurship
Lift communities out of poverty, one business at a time

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT MEDA TRUST

Dear MEDA Trust supporters,

Thank you for helping the working poor in Afghanistan and Nicaragua find new roads out of poverty through your sponsorship of microloans.

The creation of MEDA Trust in 2006 provided us a great opportunity to offer supporters like you a chance to become closer to MEDA clients. When we designed MEDA Trust, we wanted to help you engage friends, colleagues and family members – to pass along your faith, values and concern for the poor to your children and grandchildren.

Three years ago, we embarked on the Afghanistan Challenge, where donations to our microfinance work in Afghanistan were matched dollar for dollar by the Government of Canada. You may have noticed that we no longer offer Afghan loans on MEDA Trust. That’s because – thanks to your support – we have met our goal to provide loan capital for microfinance in Afghanistan. That work continues through a group of microfinance banks with which MEDA remains closely connected.

With our commitment in Afghanistan now fulfilled, we had an opportunity to review the feasibility of our MEDA Trust initiative, and have decided to dismantle MEDA Trust effective March 31. Until March 31, you can still visit MEDA Trust to view loans, make new loans to Nicaragua and track repayments. Your donations to date will continue to be used by our partner microfinance institutions to fund new loans.

As the world of microfinance has grown beyond loans to offering savings and other financial services that many in the Western world take for granted, MEDA has broadened its areas of expertise to help financial institutions in developing countries meet the growing needs of their customers, ensuring they have continued access to financial services.

The advent of social media is providing new and exciting ways to engage others – so stay tuned for more information on our changing online landscape! Again, thank you for your continuing support, and your commitment to creating business solutions to poverty.

Allan Sauder
President

Mario's Story
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Mario's Story

From an early age, Mario Menocal has been a persistent and hard-working person. He got his first job selling all kinds of merchandise from a modest truck, and from his earnings was able to support his wife and two sons and build a small house.

He has always been a visionary with good judgment in managing his money. His philosophy has been not to spend what you don't have and to stay out of debt if you won’t be able to pay it back.

In time, he saved enough money to buy a car and start a taxi service. As the business grew, he wanted to enlarge his fleet to keep pace, and MiCredito, MEDA's microfinance partner in Nicaragua, was there to help him with his first loan of $3,300. Mario made his payments on time and earned a high credit rating.

With a second loan of $3,300, he was able to grow his business. He has bought a taxi every year, and now has six cabs.

Mario is thankful to MiCredito for trusting in him, and he appreciates the opportunity to learn more through the organization's regular workshops and counseling.

He's planning his next project – home improvements – and when he has paid off his current loan, he knows he can return to MiCredito for the small loan that will make it all possible.