Calmeadow is a registered Canadian NGO, with operations based in San José, Costa Rica. Since 1985 Calmeadow has supported innovative ideas in microfinance; ideas that promote greater levels of efficiency and outreach through the commercial provision of financial services to low-income borrowers and microentrepreneurs. From humble beginnings as a family charity, Calmeadow’s work has produced far reaching impacts on the global microfinance industry and the foundation has advocated and participated in several of the landmark microfinance events in recent years. Given the tremendous growth of the microfinance industry in terms of practitioners, funders, and industry organizations, the role of Calmeadow has changed some. However, Calmeadow continues to focus on the bottlenecks and frontiers of this rapidly changing sector with the goal of promoting appropriate and efficient financial services for low-income individuals and their businesses provided by commercial financial institutions. 

 

Mission and Vision 
Calmeadow seeks to enable the self-employed poor in developing countries to strengthen their enterprises and achieve improved standards of living for themselves and their families. 

 

Calmeadow works to ensure ready access to sustainable and affordable financial services for the self-employed poor around the globe, and to mobilize and manage capital for direct investment in developing microfinance institutions in Latin America and Africa. 

Financials
Our organization depends on grants received and fees earned from a small variety of sources. With the shift of focus from direct programming to investment in international microfinance vehicles, our costs have been reduced substantially and we are fully sustainable based on these funding sources. 

 

Current Operations

Calmeadow focuses on improving the microfinance industry by identifying and addressing industry bottlenecks, promoting commercial microfinance through transformations and downscaling, and investing in funds which provide catalytic capital to help the industry grow.

 

Calmeadow financially supports funds, programs and projects geared towards promoting industry scale, commercialization and efficacy, and addressing gaps in capital markets available to microfinance institutions.

 

Investments

AfriCap Microfinance Investment Company
Emergency Liquidity Fund
MFX Solutions LLC
Barefoot Power Trade Finance Fund

 

Grants

The Risk Management Facility
Haitian Emergency Liquidity Program

 

 

Research and Seminars

Calmeadow funds and produces investigations that quantify the impact and costs of commercially serving low-income financial markets, and document the dynamics of the rapidly changing industry. Rapid change can easily create bottlenecks that ultimately keep the most efficient services possible out of the hands of potential borrowers. The dissemination of new models and industry-wide best practices are strategic priorities.