Being there for the most vulnerable in the COVID19 pandemic

“We woke up one morning and found ourselves dealing with a situation that we would never have imagined. The first thought was to protect the health of our colleagues and customers,” says Benigno Imbriano, CEO of PerMicro, a microfinance provider in Italy.

“With a great sense of responsibility and with great participation from all PerMicro colleagues, we immediately adopted organizational measures to protect everyone's health, but above all to protect our mission: delivering our help and our contribution to our customers, especially in such a difficult time. We always wanted to be there, even in the worst weeks when everything seemed to be taking a very dangerous path,”  Imbriano adds.

Since 2007 PerMicro has been serving people excluded from traditional credit channels due to insufficient credit history or precarious work situation. PerMicro comes into contact with families in temporary difficulties or having business activities in different sectors; and small businesses such as restaurants, crafts, personal services, freelancers and many others.

Today in particular PerMicro feels called upon to mitigate the consequences of the social emergency caused by COVID19, as Italy faces a risk of new poverty and great uncertainties in restarting the economy.

The organisation has launched extraordinary measures and a set of tools to support families and businesses in difficulty, thanks in part to the financing from the CEB and other European institutions:

• For the duration of the emergency, all branches have remained open albeit with reduced staff in compliance with the safety measures to protect the health of our customers and employees.
• The payment of the instalments of loans to BUSINESS customers is suspended until 30 September 2020 and the related repayment plan will be deferred.
• BUSINESS customers can renegotiate their loan with the granting of new liquidity or they can access a new loan of a maximum amount of 25,000 euros, within the framework of the rules established by the Prime Ministerial Decree of 8 April

To date PerMicro remains the first Italian microcredit provider operating across the country, combining a business management approach with social goals and giving complementary technical support to its clients, both directly and through partner associations. It is considered a microfinance pioneer in Europe and a reputable market player.

Long-term partnership

CEB financing fosters social inclusion and contributes to the preservation and creation of jobs.  Beneficiaries include aspiring entrepreneurs, vulnerable groups and especially migrants and refugees who have little or no access to the standard banking system.

“This partnership has proved to be even more crucial in reducing inequalities in the current COVID-19 pandemic context, where PerMicro confirmed to be a valid and reliable counterpart that stands out in its proactive approach to achieve the objectives of social cohesion and inclusion, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable population groups in a particularly difficult global context,” says Lucia Bucciarelli Ducci, Country Manager for Italy at the CEB.

Benigno Imbriano concludes: “We are confident that the goodwill and the energy accumulated in these lockdown days, the tools made available and in particular, the guarantee of the Central Guarantee Fund - MCC, will be fundamental elements to allow the restart of the commercial and craft activities that involve many of our customers.

PerMicro has always been there and will be there even more in the future, to support our customers, to help them recover their life and a never-so-hoped-for normality.”