Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 2.djvu/201

 PUBLIC LAW 106-309 —OCT. 17, 2000 114 STAT. 1083 better use of credit, to better manage their enterprises, and to increase their income and build their assets; "(C) capacity-building for microenterprise institutions in order to enable them to better meet the credit and training needs of microentrepreneurs; and "(D) policy and regulatory programs at the country level that improve the environment for microentrepreneurs and microenterprise institutions that serve the poor and very poor. "(2) IMPLEMENTATION.— Assistance authorized under paragraph (1)(A) and (B) shall be provided through organizations that have a capacity to develop and implement microenterprise programs, including particularly— "(A) United States and indigenous private and voluntary organizations; "(B) United States and indigenous credit unions and cooperative organizations; or "(C) other indigenous governmental and nongovernmental organizations. "(3) TARGETED ASSISTANCE.— In carrying out sustainable poverty-focused programs under paragraph (1), 50 percent of all microenterprise resources shall be targeted to very poor entrepreneurs, defined as those living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line as established by the national government of the country. Specifically, such resources shall be used for— "(A) direct support of programs under this subsection through practitioner institutions that— "(i) provide credit and other financial services to entrepreneurs who are very poor, with loans in 1995 United States dollars of— "(I) $1,000 or less in the Europe and Eurasia region; "(II) $400 or less in the Latin America region; and "(III) $300 or less in the rest of the world; and "(ii) can cover their costs in a reasonable time period; or "(B) demand-driven business development programs that achieve reasonable cost recovery that are provided to clients holding poverty loans (as defined by the regional poverty loan limitations in subparagraph (A)(i)), whether they are provided by microfinance institutions or by specialized business development services providers. "(4) SUPPORT FOR CENTRAL MECHANISMS.— The President should continue support for central mechanisms and missions, as appropriate, that— "(A) provide technical support for field missions; "(B) strengthen the institutional development of the intermediary organizations described in paragraph (2); "(C) share information relating to the provision of assistance authorized under paragraph (1) between such field missions and intermediary organizations; and "(D) support the development of nonprofit global microfinance networks, including credit union systems, that—

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