There were more than 300 poverty alleviation microfinance pilot institutions in the country in 2015, many of which were larger and started earlier than Zhonghe Rural Credit Co., Ltd.

But today, only a few companies such as Zhonghe Rural Credit Co., Ltd. have survived, because only these companies have achieved commercial sustainability.

Many poverty alleviation and assistance agencies established after the Wenchuan earthquake were later gradually withdrawn. However, Zhonghe Rural Credit Union's agency in Wenchuan is still in operation and has served the local area for more than ten years.

"Liu Dongwen, Chairman and General Manager of China Rural Credit Union, told China Economic Weekly. The predecessor of China Rural Credit Union was the Microfinance Department of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. In 1996, inspired by the "Yunus Model", we

To solve the problem of difficulty in getting loans to households, the State Council Poverty Alleviation Office launched the "Farmer Self-Reliance Service Center" pilot project and handed it over to the Poverty Alleviation Foundation for management. At the same time, this is also a government poverty alleviation project supported by the World Bank, with the purpose of providing farmers in poor rural areas with no need.

Through this pilot project, we hope to explore a new model of “development-based poverty alleviation” with no guarantee from public officials. Liu Dongwen said that Zhonghe Rural Credit Co., Ltd. set three major goals when it was founded: first.

The second is to lend money to the real poor people (especially women), the second is to improve the comprehensive capabilities of the poor, and the third is to achieve the sustainable development of the institution. “It should be said that many institutions have achieved the first two points, but all three points must be achieved.

not easy.

Among the few implementers, Zhonghe Rural Credit Co., Ltd. is the largest.

Even compared with other countries, our efficiency and technological level are the highest in the world.

"He said. According to Liu Dongwen, the development of Zhonghe Rural Credit Union has gone through three stages. The first stage was established in 1996 as a government poverty alleviation pilot project and was later handed over to the Poverty Alleviation Foundation for management. The second stage began in 2005

, the Foundation for Poverty Alleviation decided to transform the project into a market-oriented operation and operate it independently, and also began to introduce market capital and commercial funds. In 2008, the Foundation for Poverty Alleviation officially divested the microfinance project, along with its non-financial service projects.

The third stage is to establish an independent company. Starting from 2009, China Rural Credit Investment Co., Ltd. officially became a company. In 2010, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and Sequoia Capital began to invest in China Rural Credit Union Co., Ltd. as an opportunity to start business.

Transformation. Liu Dongwen said that at present, the main shareholders of Zhonghe Rural Credit Investment include TPG (Teck Pacific Investment), Sequoia Capital China Fund, Renda Puhui, Tiantian Xiangxiang Fund, etc., and the investment in Zhonghe Rural Credit Investment is mainly divided into two categories.

Two major categories: one is impact investment, and the other is ordinary commercial investment. “Impact investment is different from investment in ordinary commercial institutions. It is a supportive investment in enterprises.

Many investment institutions are now developing impact investment funds to better balance social benefits and operational benefits.

" He said. Liu Dongwen also revealed that the reason why China Rural Credit Union's loan interest rate is higher than that of banks is because its costs are also high. Comparing with many other institutions, it can be found that small loan institutions generally have the characteristics of high interest rates and high costs.

, but the average profit margin is not high. "China Rural Credit Union has not made huge profits. Our current operating status is to maintain capital and make a small profit, because our main goal is to expand the market and serve more people in need."