§2214a — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

§2214a Definitions

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 32— - FOREIGN ASSISTANCE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT › Part Part II— - Other Programs › Subpart subpart vi— - development assistance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises › § 2214a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in this part. Administrator means the head of the Agency. Agency means the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Appropriate congressional committees means the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Business development services means help for micro, small, and medium businesses like training, technical help, marketing, and better production methods. Director means the head of the office. Implementing partner organization means groups that can get support here, such as U.S. or local nonprofits, credit unions, cooperatives, local government or NGOs, MSME institutions, financial intermediaries, or practitioner institutions. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise institution means an entity that provides finance, training, or business services to those firms abroad. Financial intermediary means middlemen in financial deals like banks, credit unions, funds, village savings groups, or similar finance providers. Office means the office set up under section 2211a(b)(1). Practitioner institution means a nonprofit, financial intermediary, ICT firm with mobile money, village savings loan group, or similar entity that gives financial or business services under section 252. Private voluntary organization means a nonprofit that does economic, social, or humanitarian work abroad and is legally incorporated in the U.S. or another country. United States-supported financial intermediary means a financial intermediary that received funds under subchapter I for fiscal year 1980 or later. Very poor means people living in the bottom 50 percent below their country’s poverty line or below the World Bank international poverty line.

Title 22, §2214a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this subpart:

(1)The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Agency.

(2)The term “Agency” means the United States Agency for International Development.

(3)The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

(4)The term “business development services” means support for the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through training, technical assistance, marketing assistance, improved production technologies, and other related services.

(5)The term “Director” means the Director of the office.

(6)The term “implementing partner organization” means an entity eligible to receive assistance under this subpart which is—

(A)a United States or an indigenous private voluntary organization;

(B)a United States or an indigenous credit union;

(C)a United States or an indigenous cooperative organization;

(D)an indigenous governmental or nongovernmental organization;

(E)a micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise institution;

(F)a financial intermediary; or

(G)a practitioner institution.

(7)The term “micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise institution” means an entity that provides services, including finance, training, or business development services, for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in foreign countries.

(8)The term “financial intermediary” means the entity that acts as the intermediary between parties in a financial transaction, such as a bank, credit union, investment fund, a village savings and loan group, or an institution that provides financial services to a micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise.

(9)The term “office” means the office established under section 2211a(b)(1) of this title.

(10)The term “practitioner institution” means a not-for-profit entity, a financial intermediary, an information and communications technology firm with a mobile money platform, a village and savings loan group, or any other entity that provides financial or business development services authorized under section 252 that benefits micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise clients.

(11)The term “private voluntary organization” means a not-for-profit entity that—

(A)engages in and supports activities of an economic or social development or humanitarian nature for citizens in foreign countries; and

(B)is incorporated as such under the laws of the United States, including any of its states, territories or the District of Columbia, or of a foreign country.

(12)The term “United States-supported financial intermediary” means a financial intermediary that has received funds made available under subchapter I of this chapter for fiscal year 1980 or any subsequent fiscal year.

(13)The term “very poor” means those individuals—

(A)living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line established by the national government of the country in which those individuals live; or

(B)living below the international poverty line (as defined by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association (collectively referred to as the ‘World Bank’)).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Par. (3). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(1), substituted “Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives” for “Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives”. Par. (4). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(2), substituted “micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises” for “microenterprises”. Par. (6)(E). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(3)(A), substituted “micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise institution” for “microenterprise institution”. Par. (6)(F). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(3)(B), substituted “financial intermediary” for “microfinance institution”. Pars. (7), (8). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(4), added pars. (7) and (8) and struck out former pars. (7) and (8) which defined the terms “microenterprise institution” and “microfinance institution”, respectively. Par. (9). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(5)–(7), redesignated par. (10) as (9), struck out “of microenterprise development” before “established”, and struck out former par. (9) which defined the term “microfinance network”. Par. (10). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(6), (8), redesignated par. (11) as (10) and amended par. (10) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (10) defined the term “practitioner institution”. Former par. (10) redesignated (9). Par. (11). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(6), redesignated par. (12) as (11). Former par. (11) redesignated (10). Par. (12). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(6), (9), redesignated par. (13) as (12) and substituted “United states-supported financial intermediary” for “United States-supported microfinance institution” in heading and text. Former par. (12) redesignated (11). Pars. (13), (14). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(i)(6), (10), redesignated par. (14) as (13) and amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “living on less than the equivalent of $1 per day (as calculated using the purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rate method).” Former par. (13) redesignated (12).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

References to Subchapter I Deemed To Include Certain Parts of Subchapter IIReferences to subchapter I of this chapter are deemed to include parts IV (§ 2346 et seq.), VI (§ 2348 et seq.), and VIII (§ 2349aa et seq.) of subchapter II of this chapter, and references to subchapter II are deemed to exclude such parts. See section 202(b) of Pub. L. 92–226, set out as a note under section 2346 of this title, and section 2348c and 2349aa–5 of this title.

Change of Name

Committee on International Relations of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Foreign Affairs of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007.