Aperio Associates

06/18/2026

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on microfinance in developing countries. A link to the article is below.
The article contains a series of graphs showing the following:
* The amount of loans globally increased to over $219 billion in 2025.
* The number of borrowers has decreased to approximately 140 million in 2025
* Average loan size is approximately $1,381.00, nearly double what it was in 2009
* Non-performing loans are up substantially
Microloans are no longer micro. The Wall St. Journal reviewed some loans exceeding $10,000.

The Wall St. Journal article states, "The average microfinance borrower in Cambodia owes more than $3,900, nearly three times the median annual per capita income. Average debt per borrower is more than $6,000 when including small loans from microfinance lenders that are now commercial banks also providing other financial services."

The data suggests that the problem is not with microlending itself, but how the loans are underwritten - there appears to be very little attention by the lenders on the borrower's ability to repay out of cash flow. Instead, credit extensions are likely based on the value of the borrower's collateral.

Aperio Associates developed a short-term post-harvest loan product for smallholder farmers and MSMEs in Kenya, where the borrower's historical cash flow is the primary source of repayment, and the collateral requirement is 50% of the original loan principal.

Unless lenders improve their underwriting skills and begin to extend credit based on the borrower's cash flow as the primary source of repayment, we can expect continued increases in loan delinquencies.

Microfinance aimed to foster prosperity but stoked hardship for those borrowers who took on debt they couldn’t afford.

05/27/2026

Below is a testimonial from one farmer who attended this meeting, describing the benefits of a post-harvest loan product with a double warehouse certificate as collateral -

"One farmer who had realised a bumper harvest of maize this past season had finalised negotiations with brokers who brought the usual circus to his farm; a low price of 2500ksh per bag, and unverifiable deductions against 'moisture content and aflatoxin'.

The farmer then remembered engaging with a field manager who had mentioned being able to store his maize safely and wait for better prices. Once he was assured that they could absorb all 66 tonnes of his maize into the warehouse, get it properly tested (not by brokers' eyes), and also get a 50% payment against his maize as collateral, he immediately asked the brokers to unload the first of 6 trucks they had already loaded.

Imagine the leverage to be able to accomplish this as a farmer. He went on to sell his maize at ksh 4100 per bag for 4 months, and realised a 75% profit increase, in addition to getting a 50% advance to immediately start preparing for the next season.
We later had an open discussion between the farmers and the millers on the impact of the WRS on their interactions. The top benefit from this obviously was the erasure of the middleman, ensuring better production costs for the miller and higher revenue for the farmers.

Until we hear from farmers, aggregators, processors, millers, and the govt representatives regarding all these interventions we so loudly laud during Ag events/conferences/summits, they remain attractive slide decks and PowerPoints.

05/25/2026

Last week, Hello Tractor signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kenya's Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) for the funding of a short-term post-harvest financing product ("the product") incorporating a double warehouse certificate as collateral. The product is often referred to as warehouse receipt financing. Aperio Associates, working with FSD Kenya, designed the product and the associated credit and documentation procedures, and we provided training to Hello Tractor's booking agents responsible for originating the loans. Hello Tractor has successfully completed a pilot project at its Mauca Warehouse Hub in Nakuru County, Kenya. With AFC's support, they now plan to offer the product to smallholder farmers at their other hubs. In parallel, and through Genesis Analytics, we also offered training in warehouse receipt financing to AFC. Our thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in this project.

04/22/2026

Last Friday afternoon, at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group, I attended a panel discussion entitled "Why MSME Access to Finance Matters," moderated by Ms. Sophie Sirtaine of the World Bank. The focus of the discussion was on lending against cash flow as a means to improve the availability of credit for MSMEs globally.

Lending against cash flow substantially increases the availability of credit for MSMEs. There is an increasing number of MSMEs in emerging markets engaged in providing services with little need for collateral, such as production equipment or vehicles, that they could pledge to a lender in consideration for the extension of credit. Service businesses might have sufficient cash flow to service a loan, but a limited ability to borrow because they don't have sufficient collateral to satisfy the requirements of a lender.

There are an increasing number of payment platforms available in emerging markets, like M-Pesa in Kenya, where a lender may evaluate a potential borrower's cash flow and use that information as a basis for credit approval. The increasing use by lenders of platforms like M-Pesa to evaluate a borrower's ability to repay an obligation will lower underwriting costs for lenders and improve overall availability.

Aperio Associates just completed a pilot project in Kenya focused on extending warehouse receipt finance to smallholder farmers in the Maize Value Chain, where cash flow was considered the primary source of repayment, and, for credit evaluation and underwriting, the value of the collateral was assumed to be zero. The initial results of the pilot project have been very encouraging.

Our client hopes to expand this approach to MSME lending throughout Kenya. For more information about the project, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you.
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04/20/2026

Last Thursday, at the Headquarters of the International Finance Corp. and alongside the World Bank Spring Meeting, I was invited to attend a panel discussion entitled "What Really Scales in Digital MSME Lending: Lessons From Leading Markets." Count me as a healthy sceptic of digital lending, at least as an end in itself.

Aperio Associates just completed a pilot project in Kenya that served to introduce warehouse receipt financing for smallholder farmers (2 hectares or less) in the Maize Value Chain. The credit and underwriting process used in the pilot project incorporated digital tools in a way that made traditional credit and underwriting practices more efficient and less expensive, making it profitable for financial institutions to consider extending credit to small transactions for smallholder farmers and MSMEs in general.

I believe that this approach, melding digital tools with traditional approaches to credit and underwriting, will make it attractive to financial institutions and, at the same time, result in a higher level of acceptance by regulators.

I'd be happy to share a description of the pilot project with those who are interested. Please contact me at - [email protected]. Thank you.

04/16/2026

Last Tuesday, at the hashtag Spring meetings in Washington, D.C., I attended a panel discussion entitled "Financial Sector Overhaul in Ethiopia." Panelists included the Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (hashtag ) and representatives from the World Bank and the hashtag . The panelists covered the impressive number of macro-reforms currently being undertaken by NBE, with support from the World Bank and the IMF.

hashtag and its Principals have been providing financial support to Ethiopia since 2017, including:
* Conducting 9 2-day workshops on financial leasing for professionals from the Development Bank of Ethiopia (hashtag );
* Developing recommendations for the re-capitalization of 5 regional leasing companies located throughout Ethiopia, including visits to 4 of the regional leasing companies, and leading a workshop that included officials from the Government of Ethiopia (hashtag ) and managers of the 5 regional leasing companies. The regional leasing companies play an important role in Ethiopia, focusing on extending financial leasing credit to micro and small enterprises (hashtag )
* Along with the International Finance Corporation's (hashtag ) Office in Addis Ababa, organized a study tour to Ukraine for Ethiopian Government Officials responsible for the regulation and supervision of financial leasing companies operating in Ethiopia. The participants met with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Chair of the Financial Services Committee of the Parliament of Ukraine, the Head of the Ukrainian Union of Lessors, and 2 Ukrainian financial leasing companies.
* Participated in developing a diagnostic designed to guide reforms in the regulatory and supervisory policies of the NBE, applying to the financial leasing industry in Ethiopia.

We look forward to continuing our involvement in Ethiopia.

04/07/2026

Robert Teichman - In Memorium
Robert Teichman, the Co-Founder of Aperio Associates, passed away last March 31st, at age 92. Bob was a giant in the financial leasing industry in the United States. He was a Founder of the Certified Leasing and Financial Professional (CLFP) Association in the United States, and he served as President on several occasions. In 2008, Bob was elected by his peers as "Leasing Person of the Year."

Relatively late in life, Bob took his leasing knowledge overseas, becoming a major figure in the organization of the Certified Leasing Specialists Union (CLS-U) of Ukraine & Moldova, the first organization of leasing specialists outside of North America. Bob arranged for leasing professionals who passed a vigerous exam to receive a joint certification from both CLFP in the United States and CLS-U.

Bob was the Co-Author of the International Financial Corporation's Global Leasing Toolkit, a comprehensive guide to establishing and operating a leasing company. The Toolkit contains over 30 real-world case studies, including several from Bob's long career in financial leasing.

Bob, rest in peace.