THE BRIDGE FUND: ENCOURAGING CAPITALISM
          
               ACCION International, a private non-profit
          organization founded in 1961, sponsors self-help
          economic development programs in Latin America.  ACCION
          provides loans and basic business training to owners of
          the smallest of the small-scale businesses.
               Today, ACCION has local affiliate organizations in
          14 countries of the Americas.  During 1991 alone, the
          ACCION network disbursed $63 million to more than
          96,667 businesses.  Loans averaged the equivalent of US
          $371 in local currency and were paid back within a
          period of 3-4 months.
               ACCION's programs for owners of very small-scale
          businesses bridge a gap that exists between the supply
          and demand for fair-rate credit.  Without ACCION's
          intervention, most impoverished business owners have
          access only to loan shark credit at usurious interest
          rates.
               Individuals seeking loans may use any type of
          equipment or property as collateral, or they may join
          three or more micro-entrepreneurs to form a Solidarity
          Group and take a collective loan.  These Solidarity
          Groups represent a substitute for collateral, in that
          members provide the support necessary to ensure that
          members repay their portions of the loan.  No group
          member is eligible for another loan until the entire
          loan has been paid back.
               Program participants enjoy an average increase in
          family income of 30% in the first year.  Loans of as
          little as $375 can create an entirely new job.
               ACCION's record over the years has shown that the
          self-employed poor are willing and able to take loans
          at market rates of interest, and are capable of paying
          them back.  Overall, ACCION's affiliates enjoy a 98%
          payback rate.
               For millions of men and women, starting a micro-
          business is the only means of survival.  However,
          without access to commercial credit, it is nearly
          impossible for these enterprises to keep afloat. 
          Micro-entrepreneurs often find that loan sharks are
          their only alternative, yet the usurious rates of
          interest they charge (up to 10% per day!) certainly do
          not allow these struggling businesses to grow or
          prosper.  Rather, their meager profits are almost
          entirely used for the repayment of their loans, with
          little, if any, left over on which to subsist.
               ACCION's affiliates provide credit at market rates
          of interest offering micro-entrepreneurs throughout the
          Americas the opportunity to succeed.
          
          What is the Bridge Fund?
          
               The Bridge Fund is an important mechanism for
          funding the loan portfolios of ACCION's affiliates. 
          The Bridge Fund is capitalized with loans and donations
          from individuals, churches, and institutions.  Bridge
          Fund monies, which remain in the United States, are
          used as collateral to back guarantees in the form of
          standby letters of credit issued in favor of local
          banks in Latin America.  With the backing of a letter
          of credit, these banks then make loans to ACCION's
          affiliates.
               The funds received by the affiliates are used
          exclusively for making loans to micro-entrepreneurs.
               The Bridge Fund has become an important source of
          funding for ACCION.  The Fund has allowed ACCION's
          affiliates to tap into an otherwise unavailable funding
          source, the commercial banks in Latin America, and in
          so doing, to leverage its resources.  As the banks gain
          confidence in the ability to pay back its loans, ACCION
          is required to guarantee a decreasing fraction of the
          credit extended to its local affiliates.
               The Fund has experienced significant growth in the
          last few years.  Loans and donations from private and
          government sources, which stood at $575,000 in 1987,
          climbed to $5.9 million at the end of 1991.  This
          growth is due not only to the Fund's success in
          attracting new money, but also to the decision of most
          lenders to roll over their maturing loans. 
               The minimum loan accepted by the Bridge Fund is
          $10,000.  The rate of interest paid varies, based on
          prevailing market rates.  As of late 1992, the maximum
          rate of interest paid was 2.5% per year.  Many lenders,
          at their own discretion, elect a lower rate of
          interest.  The difference between market interest rates
          and the rate paid by ACCION represents the margin
          retained by ACCION to partially cover the Fund's
          administrative costs.
               The minimum loan period is 18 months with interest
          payments made semi-annually and principal paid at
          maturity. 
               ACCION accepts donations of any size for the
          Bridge Fund.
               It is refreshing to find an organization building
          and strengthening capitalism through capitalist
          techniques.  Your support of the Bridge Fund won't
          diversify your portfolio, but a loan to the Bridge Fund
          won't dip into your capital and will help to build the
          capitalist society in other countries of the Americas
          that makes capital preservation through international
          diversification possible.
               For more information contact:  Bridge Fund
          Department, ACCION International, 130 Prospect Street,
          Cambridge MA 02139; tel: (617) 492-6930; fax: (617)
          876-9509.