The IDEAS Executive Director, Carter Garber, is a pioneer in the field of encouraging socially responsible investment from the Global North to the Global South. In 1991, he was the founding Manager of one of the first entities to allow US private investors to invest directly in microfinance and community enterprises. The Nicaraguan Community Development Loan Fund grew to $2.5 million, was far more successful than anyone imagined, returned over $1 million to private investors, and achieved operational self-sufficiency during Carter’s four year tenure. He set the foundation for it to quickly double its capitalization. The Fund borrowed monies from hundreds of individuals, churches, religious orders and denominations, and foundations. It now has grown into two separate institutions, the Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund (NICA Fund managed by WCCN, www.wccnica.org/nica.html) and PRESTANIC, a Nicaraguan non-profit microfinance institution (prestanic_gerencia@cepad.org.ni). Each of the funds have over $3 million invested in loans in microfinance in Nicaragua. Together they have lent over $20 million in the past decade without a single late payment to investors.

In his dissertation, Carter documented the entities that were lending to the Global South. It is entitled Private Financing of Microcredit: The Models and Potential of U.S. Socially Responsible Investment in International Small Enterprise Credit. It is available for purchase from www.lib.umi.com/dxweb/search under number 9838812.

IDEAS has been consulting with the staff and board of CARE USA on the formation of MicroVest, a global investment facility based on a limited partnership model. The facility seeks to make equity and debt investments in second tier funds and first tier microfinance institutions. For more information, miller@care.org.

An IDEAS member has led the effort to do due diligence on fair trade coffee producers and exporters for the Calvert Foundation. The Foundation is a leading entity in channeling private investments to microfinance in developing countries internationally. Their web page has many interesting details on investees and investors, www.calvertfoundation.org.

IDEAS did due diligence and site visits for the microfinance institutions in Latin America, which were borrowers from Partners for the Common Good 2000 fund.

IDEAS has provided capital markets consulting and due diligence in Latin America for Oikocredit and NOVIB, both of The Netherlands.