Benchmarking Microfinance in Nicaragua 2005

This report is the first edition of the Benchmarking Microfinance in Nicaragua series. It focuses on the performance of Nicaraguan MFI under the lens of the standard indicators using local and regional peer groups. These include:

• Scale and outreach;
• Financial structure;
• Profitability and sustainability;
• Revenues and expenses;
• Efficiency and productivity;
• Portfolio quality.

The report concludes that:

• At the country level, Nicaraguan MFIs have an outstanding performance with respect to Central America, and have similar results to those of the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean;
• Compared to the rest of Central America, Nicaraguan MFIs are larger in scale and outreach, have higher leverage and, as a result of their efficiency, are more profitable;
• Nicaraguan MFIs need to create strategies to meet their funding needs to maintain growth in the sector without abandoning the microfinance approach.