Emergency Liquidity Facility

The Emergency Liquidity Facility (ELF) was created in 2004 by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and SECO, along with other active microfinance funders, together with the Technical Support Facility (TSF). Both facilities have their origins in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated much of Central America in the late 1990s, and were created in order to assist microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean to prepare for and respond to liquidity crises caused by external emergencies. Given its experience in fund management for MFIs in Latin America, the limited partners selected Omtrix Inc. to operate ELF and the related TSF.

The ELF and TSF were created to (i) pre-qualify microfinance institutions for emergency loans and assist them in preparing for and responding to external shocks and (ii) establish a funded financing instrument that could quickly and prudently disburse funds to MFIs in the region facing external disasters that would result in a liquidity crisis. With these facilities, MFIs can continue operating and providing their clients with much needed financial services during and in the aftermath of such crises.

SECO provided USD 1 million equity to ELF and grants for the TSF totaling USD 100,000.