Posted by Nisha Koul
A microcredit system reportedly may be launched in Cuba as part of a
reform program adopted by the government which specifies that "the
credit policy will be essentially oriented towards providing necessary
support for activities that stimulate national production and generate
hard currency income or replace imports, as well as activities that
promote development "[1].
Juan Diego Ruiz, general coordinator of the Spanish Agency for
International Development Co-operation (AECID, in Spanish), an
instrument of the Spanish government, said, "Today what's being talked
about more is credit policy, credit for the productive sector, and it's
an issue that is being discussed both on the street and in offices."
Tomás Marco, head of agricultural development in Cuba for AECID's
Spanish Technical Office for Cooperation, commented that it is in the
area of self-employment "where microcredit fits best, with a focus on
individuals. What's opening up is a possibility; it's not even a
certainty. Nobody knows if loans in hard currency for self-employed
people will be permitted." In another sign of international interest,
the Italian Permanent National Committee for Microcredit, an agency of
the Italian government that was set up to facilitate microfinance
activities, has also made visits to Cuba.
According to Inter Press Service (IPS), a news agency focused on global
issues, credit in Cuba is primarily used for individuals' purchases of
domestic goods and financing for agricultural cooperatives. The reforms
will reportedly allow credit to be disbursed to self-employed
individuals to finance their working capital and asset purchases.
As of 2011, an estimated 83 percent of the labor force in Cuba is
employed by the state; 5 percent is employed by cooperatives closely
connected with the state; 12 percent work in the private sector; and 3
percent are self-employed, "cuentapropistas". No institutions report to
the US-based nonprofit microfinance information exchange (MIX) that they
offer microfinance in Cuba.
By Nisha Koul, Research Associate
About Italian Permanent National Committee for Microcredit: The Italian
Permanent National Committee for Microcredit was created as the "2005
National Committee of Microcredit" in response to the UN General
Assembly proclaiming 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit. The
committee's mission was to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals through the diffusion of microcredit and microfinance
activities to reduce poverty and financial exclusion. The committee was
renamed as the Italian Permanent National Committee for Microcredit in
July 2006. The new, permanent committee aims to find an "Italian way to
microcredit levering on the potential, professionalism and patrimony of
knowledge that may be found in our country and developing, on the same
time, positive synergies with other countries". The budget figures for
the committee are not available.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Havana Times, http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=45824
U.S. Department of State, Background Notes, Cuba,
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2886.htm#econ
Italian Permanent National Committee for Microcredit,
http://www.microcreditoitalia.org/index.php
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Millennium Development Goals,
http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Millennium+Development+Goals+%28MDGs%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at
http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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