The Foundation for International Community Assistance (International FINCA) is an association of Microcrédit, with not-lucrative goal, founded by John Hatch in 1984. Sometimes indicated like the “World Bank of the poor” and a “vaccine of poverty for planet”, FINCA is the instigator of the methodology of the Village banking in the microcrédit, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern microfinance. With its general headquarter with Washington, cd., FINCA has 21 affiliated countries, in Latin America, with the the Caribbean, in Africa, Europe of the East, Asia Western and central. With the Grameen Bank and Accion International, FINCA is regarded as one of the most influential organizations of microfinance in the world.

History

In 1984, Hatch, an informed and expert economist of international expansion, conceives a new method to deliver assistance to the poor. On an aircraft flying over the Andes in direction of the Bolivia, Hatch is struck by the inspiration. It seizes what to write, and quickly notes ideas, equations and flow charts. Arrived with Paz, it already provided the foundations of an approach completely different from the lightening of poverty: a financial utility routine which would give responsibilities to the poor. “Give to the poor communities the opportunity, and after give up! ” Hatch declares. It calls the idea village banking . This approach gives to the poor the opportunity to secure loans on levels of interest of the market.

Hatch initially convinced the group of the officers of the USAID (Agency of the United States for international expansion), which, interested by this innovative idea, will provide a first subsidy of a million dollars. Hatch and its Peruvian partner of business, Aquiles Lanoa, launched the program in five parts geographically separated from Bolivia, and in the four weeks space, funds in 280 villages had generated, serving 14  000 families with loans being worth 630  000  $. When the customers of Hatch in Bolivia changed their national team, the new representatives stopped the program. More careful than the original team customers, the new group recognized the success of the program, but continued to think that the loan non-collateralized with the very poor people was too risky. Hatch spent the following months to form the others with the methodology of the village banking , helping to open new programs through the Latin America, and forming the institution which will become the FINCA International. FINCA incorporated in 1985.

Its capacity to reach financial durability, allowed the FINCA to extend in a considerable way in the years 1980-1990 in Latin America, the the Caribbean, in Africa, and in the countries of the ex-USSR. In the years 2000, FINCA continues to extend in the new independent states, by establishing new programs in Central Asia. Its most recent programs were launched in Afghanistan, in 2004, and Jordan in 2007.

Mission

The mission of the FINCA International is to provide “finance departments to the contractors of low-incomes of the world thus making it possible to create jobs, to generate capital, and to improve their standard of living”. Today the mission of the FINCA reaches more than 500.000 customers in the world. In this ambitious dash, it aims at doubling its number of customers from here at 2010.

The objective of this mission is to have a systematic impact and générationnel on poverty, while making available the loans to the poor women, and this, with large scales.

In the industry of the microcrédit, the FINCA is famous to reach the poorest segments of the market.

Supports

In 2003, its majesty the queen Rania of Jordan accepted an invitation to join the FINCA International, formalizing a relation of support which had started in 2000. By accepting this invitation, the queen reaffirmed her faith in the vision of the FINCA.

The israélo-American actress Natalie Portman joined the FINCA in 2003, as “an ambassador of the Hope”. In connection with its meeting with the queen, she explains: " Because I am Israeli and that the Rania queen is probably the Palestinian woman most influential in the world, I had this dream to meet her and of something to promote peace and to work together between women Israeli and Palestinian. I did not even realize that two thirds of the population was extremely poor, lived for less than one dollar per day, and which 70% of these people are women and children. It is not something only one teaches at the school in the " United States;. Since then, Portman visited the various projects of the FINCA in Mexico, in Guatemala, in Uganda, and Ecuador, and met several members of the congress to require more governmental funds for this kind of initiatives.

Of its voyage in Uganda, Portman remembers, " … in Uganda I met a named woman Efuwa who was one of the first customers of the FINCA in Uganda, 11 years ago. When it started it had 10 children. Her husband beat it, it gained 80 hundreds per day and it said to us how it borrowed the water of the dirty linen of its neighbors to clean its clothing and those of her children, because it could not be allowed to buy a little soap. Today, 11 years later, it opened a restaurant. Its loans reach more 2000  $ now, because, you know, it is a faithful customer. She engaged seven other women. She sends all her girls to the school. One among it is at the university now. It, to some extent, put their joint money to send most gifted to the university; and it is incredible the quantity of responsibility and of pride which these women who do not have of education and almost not hope can take.

List countries where the FINCA operates

See too

Grameen Bank

External bonds

  • Official site of the FINCA
  • Interview of Natalie Portman concerning the FINCA in the emission " The View" on ABC, the 1 {{er}} May 2007 (English)

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