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Balkan MFIs listed in Forbes top 50
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There are currently in excess of 12,000 microfinance institutions in the world.
World Vision Bosnia Herzegovina MFI, EKI is ranked 14th, whilst Agroinvest, World Vision's MFI in Montenegro and Serbia is ranked 22nd. In 2007, EKI disbursed 38.000 loans amounting to US $ 93 million. From all disbursed loans, 45 percent was for agriculture development, 43 percent for small and medium entrepreneurs and rest of it was for housing loans and improving living standards.
MFI Agroinvest is the second largest MFI in the region with an outstanding performance record. In 2007, they have disbursed 30.000 loans in amount of US $ 64million. Agroinvest has also impacted the lives of more than 56.000 children every year, through its integrated model - the Happy Child Project, where a percentage of each loan is put directly back into funds for the community.
To qualify for a ranking, the institutions must have made available their audited financials and must have passed review by a Forbes panel of advisers. Forbes rankings are based on the size of the gross loan portfolio of each MFI; efficiency, which considers operating expense and the cost per borrower as a percent of the gross national income per capita of their country of operation; risk, which looks at the quality of their loan portfolios, measured as the percent of the portfolio at risk greater than 30 days; and return, which is measured as a combination of return on equity and return on assets. Each category is equally weighted for an institution's overall ranking.
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