The Central American and Caribbean Microfinance Network (REDCAMIF) Conference in The Dominican Republic
By: Jon Bishop, CEO and Founder, and Elizabeth Rodriguez, Director of Lending – July 20, 2026
We attended the Central American Microfinance Network (REDCAMIF) Conference this June in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Despite the name, the conference has grown to serve all countries throughout Latin America and convened 845 attendees from 23 countries at this year’s conference. In addition to facilitating face-to-face meetings with many of our Latin American partners, the conference reenforced our market niche – serving very small microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have big social impact.
The conference is geared toward disseminating information relevant to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America. It also serves the important purpose of providing a venue for MFIs and funding organizations to meet and discuss possible partnerships.
The conference gave us the unparalleled opportunity to meet with representatives of current partner MFIs and potential partners. We talked to representatives of Envest partners Cooperativa Inclusiva and Cooperativa Santa Isabel in Peru, MiCrédito in Nicaragua, and OPORTUN in El Salvador. Although virtual meetings help us stay connected, the opportunity to hold in person conversations is invaluable.
There were several small MFIs with compelling social missions and strong financial performance that visited our table. These MFIs are serving borrowers not served by other financial institutions such as residents of the Southern Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua and borrowers whose credit ratings were sullied during an extreme economic disruption in Nicaragua. It is encouraging to see that there are emerging actors in the sector with new ideas serving inadequately served markets. We hope to be able to consider partnerships with them as Envest grows.
A recurring theme for the Envest team is the paucity of international microfinance lenders that are willing to lend to very small MFIs. Only two or three of the more than two dozen international lenders present at the conference could lend to MFIs with total assets less than $5 million. Several Central and South American MFIs traveled to the Dominican Republic in hopes of finding potential lenders only to find their options extremely limited. Envest and one or two other lenders were the only ones who were able to have a meaningful conversation about a possible lending relationship. The conference reinforced our understanding of the reality that very few funding sources are available to small MFIs. While we hope to see other lenders serving small MFIs, Envest embraces its role as one of few lenders committed to financing smaller MFIs and helping them expand their impact.
Overall, we found the REDCAMIF conference extremely valuable, and we look forward to attending next year in Honduras.
We attended the Central American Microfinance Network (REDCAMIF) Conference this June in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Despite the name, the conference has grown to serve all countries throughout Latin America and convened 845 attendees from 23 countries at this year’s conference. In addition to facilitating face-to-face meetings with many of our Latin American partners, the conference reenforced our market niche – serving very small microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have big social impact.
The conference is geared toward disseminating information relevant to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America. It also serves the important purpose of providing a venue for MFIs and funding organizations to meet and discuss possible partnerships.
The conference gave us the unparalleled opportunity to meet with representatives of current partner MFIs and potential partners. We talked to representatives of Envest partners Cooperativa Inclusiva and Cooperativa Santa Isabel in Peru, MiCrédito in Nicaragua, and OPORTUN in El Salvador. Although virtual meetings help us stay connected, the opportunity to hold in person conversations is invaluable.
There were several small MFIs with compelling social missions and strong financial performance that visited our table. These MFIs are serving borrowers not served by other financial institutions such as residents of the Southern Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua and borrowers whose credit ratings were sullied during an extreme economic disruption in Nicaragua. It is encouraging to see that there are emerging actors in the sector with new ideas serving inadequately served markets. We hope to be able to consider partnerships with them as Envest grows.
A recurring theme for the Envest team is the paucity of international microfinance lenders that are willing to lend to very small MFIs. Only two or three of the more than two dozen international lenders present at the conference could lend to MFIs with total assets less than $5 million. Several Central and South American MFIs traveled to the Dominican Republic in hopes of finding potential lenders only to find their options extremely limited. Envest and one or two other lenders were the only ones who were able to have a meaningful conversation about a possible lending relationship. The conference reinforced our understanding of the reality that very few funding sources are available to small MFIs. While we hope to see other lenders serving small MFIs, Envest embraces its role as one of few lenders committed to financing smaller MFIs and helping them expand their impact.
Overall, we found the REDCAMIF conference extremely valuable, and we look forward to attending next year in Honduras.