About Us - History of MIDA

The Micro Investment Development Agency Limited, a statutory company, was established in 1991 and started lending in February 1992. The primary objective of MIDA is to energize and facilitate the development of the micro enterprise sector.

The earlier wholesale loans disbursed by MIDA were taken up by the peoples Co-operative Banks, the Credit Unions and other traditional retail lending organizations. Later on, since 1996, the Community Development Funds, (CDFs), have been the major retailers of MIDA's funds.

The CDFs were formed and promoted to make micro enterprise credit more accessible to Jamaicans needing credit to start or expand their micro businesses without the demand for traditional collateral. The CDFs are Industrial Provident Societies, managed by elected Management Committees.

Background:

In response to challenges of globalization and in pursuit of a truly sustainable organization, the Board of Directors of the Micro Investment Development Agency approved an extensive re-structuring exercise where international best practices are being applied across the board. This resulted in our network of Community Development Funds being technically strengthened and their offices technologically equipped to enable daily on-line monitoring, using a web-based format.

This has allowed MIDA and the CDFs to greatly improve the efficiency of the delivery of micro credit to its clients island wide.