Immigrant Participation in Microloan Programmes in Western Europe

This survey provides an overview of micro-lending practices and the challenges that micro-lenders face when working with immigrant entrepreneurs in Western Europe. The survey, in which twenty seven micro-lenders participated, explored:

• Quantitative data about the number of immigrants expressing an interest in micro loans;
• Micro-lenders' perceptions about whether immigrants face specific difficulties in accessing micro-loans, running their businesses or repaying their loans;
• Immigrant-specific policies.

The survey found that:

• There was a real need among immigrants for micro-loans;
• The average loan size for immigrants was slightly lower than that for other clients;
• Some organizations had significantly lower rates of loans to inquiries for immigrants, suggesting that immigrants do have difficulties accessing their loans;
• Many respondents had a higher proportion of immigrant borrowers than the average population of immigrants in the population;
• Most respondents did not have a specific policy regarding citizenship or ethnicity;
• Specific loan products for immigrants were scarce and limited in scope, and only 35% of the respondents provided specific non-loan services to immigrants.

The survey concludes that:

• In order to meet the potential demand from immigrants, the microfinance sector in Europe has to develop and increase its scale of activities;
• Because most organizations are operating on small scales, simply increasing their level of activity could increase their number of immigrant clients;
• Products and services related to micro-lending need to improve to better serve immigrants.