ACODEP is the largest micro-finance institution in Nicaragua. It was founded in 1989. In 1999, ACODEP had 11 branches and served around 12000 clients, mostly in urban and semi-urban locations.

Mission: ACODPE’s mission is to reach all segments of the population that demand financial services for the development of their enterprises. ACODEP works on facilitating access to credit, managerial education and technical assistance through the building of financially self-sufficient institutions.

Targeting Tool: To reach its diverse clientele, ACODEP offers a range of loan and savings services. The loan size can be as low as US$20, but can also reach several thousand dollars. Apart from credit services, a number of savings products seek to also address the poorer segments of the population. ACODEP thus relies on product design to attract individuals from different economic backgrounds.

Results of the Poverty Assessment of Clients: The figure below shows the poverty level of clients relative to the population they are in (non-clients). The population (non-clients) is divided into three equal terciles — the poorest third, the less poor, and the better off. The results indicate that 30.9 % of client households belong to the poorest group. In the less poor and better off group, the corresponding percentages are 37.7% and 31.4%. If ACODEP’s clients would be exactly as poor as the general non-client population, it would have 33 % of its clients in each of the three groups. However, ACODEP’s clients are slightly underrepresented in the poorest group, and somewhat overrepresented in the less poor group.

ACODEP serves a clientele that is quite similar to the general population in its operational area. This result is consistent with its stated objective of reaching micro, small, and medium enterprises through a diversity in the financial products that it offers.