Colombia Situation (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela): Microfinance Interventions
This article looks at the provision of microfinance services to refugees from Colombia. It describes how the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) in partnership with local MFIs provides microfinance to Colombian refugees in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
The article explains how microfinance interventions are designed based on the needs of each person or a group of people and primarily involve access to credit and other microfinance services, business training, technical assistance, legal advice and market access to maximize the success of productive activities. The article also elucidates the benefits of microfinance services for refugees, namely:
- Contribution to the social integration of refugees and asylum-seekers under conditions of dignity and respect for human rights;
- Creation of direct or indirect employment opportunities for recipient families resulting in an improvement of their lives;
- Facilitation of coexistence between refugees and their host communities.
The article concludes that microfinance interventions work on improving the living conditions of loan recipients, empower women and promote social cohesion.
