ACCION International

Michael Schlein. Michael Schlein, named president and CEO of ACCION in September 2009, brings 25 years of extensive international banking, management and public service experience to the microfinance organization. Formerly President of Citigroup’s International Franchise Management unit, Mr. Schlein helped manage the bank’s network of 100 Chief Country Officers, who were responsible for performance, regulatory relations, governance and reputational risk in their… See full bio.

Philanthropedia ACCION, the World's Most Effective Non-Profit Microfinance, Thrives On Constant Innovation Sep 30, 2010	September 30, 2010: Fast Company article about ACCION. ACCION, the World's Most Effective Non-Profit Microfinance, Thrives On Constant Innovation: http://www.fastcompany.com/1692258/accion-named-worlds-most-effective-microfinance-non-profit-former-ceo-michael-chu-tells-us-w Read More.
Kimberly Moynihan Communications Associate Sep 21, 2010	ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need―microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services―to work their way out of poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION was founded in… Read More.

Story: This is Vitalio Fernandez Algeria's story, a broom maker in Bolivia: Here in El Torno, Bolivia, Vitalio Fernandez Alegría and his wife Leandrina began with ACCION partner BancoSol 12 years ago as part of a solidarity group, receiving small loans, stitching brooms by hand and producing a fraction of what they produce today. The simple purchase of a 1,572 boliviano (US$300) stitching machine, underwritten by BancoSol, has since enabled them to increase by threefold the number of brooms they can make. Now, they board a bus every two months and make the two-day journey to La Paz to sell 1,800 brooms to a department store chain. They proudly report the impact of their efforts: “Our three kids are now professionals as a result of this work. We couldn’t take care of them when they were young, but the business grew to support their educations,” says Vitalio. “This work has been great to us." (Source: http://media.accion.org/comm/ACCION%20International%202008%20Annual%20Report%20FINAL.pdf)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

They served 7.7 million people in the last 10 years (from 1998-2008). They gave out 28.5 million dollars in microloans in 2008. They lent 23.4 billion USD in 2008, have 32 microfinance partners in 23 countries, and have 811,024 clients with saving accounts. They also have 1.4 billion USD in saving deposits, a 71% increase over 2007.

Organization Strengths Summary:

Microfinance experts believe that ACCION International’s greatest strength is that they are good at scaling. They have a strong investment focus and lead in consumer protection. They have technical excellence and have a great public image.
See expert comments.

Areas for Improvement Summary:

At the same time, experts feel that ACCION International should develop a stronger US presence, emphasize more heavily on the poor, and increase their measurement of impact and transparency.
See expert comments.

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Michael Schlein, named president and CEO of ACCION in September 2009, brings 25 years of extensive international banking, management and public service experience to the microfinance organization. Formerly President of Citigroup’s International Franchise Management unit, Mr. Schlein helped manage the bank’s network of 100 Chief Country Officers, who were responsible for performance, regulatory relations, governance and reputational risk in their respective countries. In previous roles, Mr. Schlein also oversaw Citi's Human Resources and Global Corporate Affairs. A member of Citigroup's Operating Committee, he served as Executive Director of Citi’s Business Practices Committee, and as a Director of Citibank, N.A., Poland’s Bank Handlowy and Citibank Korea, Inc. Prior to his senior posts at Citi, Mr. Schlein served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as Chief of Staff for the New York City Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development. He began his career in public finance investment banking at Smith Barney. Mr. Schlein has been involved with microfinance for years through both Citi and ACCION. He has played a leadership role at the Citi Foundation, which has a long history of funding microfinance initiatives, and he has served on the Board, and more recently the Executive Committee, of ACCION International. Mr. Schlein also sits on the boards of nonprofit organizations Wildcat Service Corporation and New York Cares. He is a corporate member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Business Council of the Asia Society. Mr. Schlein holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1984. He resides with his family in New York.Mr. Schlein also sits on the boards of nonprofit organizations Wildcat Service Corporation and New York Cares.

Philanthropedia ACCION, the World's Most Effective Non-Profit Microfinance, Thrives On Constant Innovation Sep 30, 2010

September 30, 2010: Fast Company article about ACCION. ACCION, the World's Most Effective Non-Profit Microfinance, Thrives On Constant Innovation: http://www.fastcompany.com/1692258/accion-named-worlds-most-effective-microfinance-non-profit-former-ceo-michael-chu-tells-us-w

Kimberly Moynihan Communications Associate Sep 21, 2010

ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need―microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services―to work their way out of poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION International's partner microfinance institutions today are providing loans as low as $50 to poor men and women entrepreneurs in 23 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. In the last decade alone, ACCION partners have disbursed more than 36.1 million loans totaling more than $31.8 billion; 97 percent of the loans have been repaid. For more information, visit www.accion.org <http://www.accion.org/> .