BNP Paribas has granted its first loan to a Micro Finance Institution (MFI), in Indonesia, Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura. This loan will allow lending to nearly 10,000 women. “Mitra Bisnis Keluarga” (MBK) – which stands for “Family Business Partners,” transformed itself from a foundation called “Ganesha Microfinance Foundation” in January 2007.

Their vision is to provide working capital to women from low income households in Indonesia, in order to raise their family income and standards of living. Many individuals do not have a savings account, credit report, or collateral to obtain a loan from a financial institution. MBK Ventura fills this gap by extending small loans to women in Indonesia, many of whom are involved in small trade, preparing and selling food, livestock rearing and vegetable growing.

A unique feature of MBK Ventura is that virtually all the staff, including its CEO, are women. MBK Ventura has supplied loans to 134,000 women and has a target of 1 million by 2011. Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country with a population of 240 million, with 40 million living below the poverty line.

Currently it operates in eight rural districts in Java, namely Rural Tangerang, Rural Bogor, Rural Sukabumi, Rural Bandung South, Rural Bandung West, Garut and Tasikmalaya. MBK Ventura believes that the availability of working capital is one of the most effective and direct weapons to fight poverty and the unjust distribution of income.