FACES 2
With the loan of EUR 240,000 new local partner FACES aims to support the financing of around 100 microenterprises in Ecuador, with a greater focus on rural sectors and preferably in agricultural activities. **please note: this project contains an exchange rate risk EUR/USD)**
€240,000
5.25%
24 months
6 months
USD
CurrencyAmount | €240,000 |
Interest | 5.25% |
Maturity | 24 months |
Repayments | 6 months |
Currency | USD |
Summary
General information:
Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador, also called FACES, is a NGO which was set up in 1991. Its mission is to support entrepreneurs with microloans. FACES is a non-regulated institution, but self-regulated according to the same guidelines.
FACES is a non-governmental, non-profit development institution that has been contributing to social and economic improvement in the southern (Loja, Zamora Chinchipe and El Oro) and northern (Pichincha) regions of the country since inception. Its main office is in the city of Loja, the provincial capital of Loja.
Loan purpose
With the funding, FACES aims to support the financing of microenterprises, with a greater focus on rural sectors and preferably in agricultural activities. The main area served by Fundación FACES is the rural and peri-urban areas.
There is a grace period of 12 months, which means that the first repayment takes place after 1 year (in stead of 6 months).
The most relevant activity for the institution is to continue to strengthen microfinance as an alternative for the development alternative for poor populations, who require financial and technical support to grow their microenterprises and technical support in order to grow their microenterprises and to orient them more securely towards the market
The purpose of the project and external financing is to continue facilitating the population's access to human, technical and economic resources for its growth. and economic resources for their personal growth and family personal growth and family improvement by strengthening micro-enterprises and productive chains.
Fundación FACES serves a unique market segment: microentrepreneurs with trade, processing, service, and agricultural and livestock activities, located in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. 55% of the customer portfolio is located in rural areas, 45% is used to finance commerce, transformation and service activities.
The benefit for microentrepreneurs is to be able to access financing at a competitive cost. Fundación FACES does not make credit more expensive by charging the client a reserve or an initial deposit, nor do we make credit more expensive by charging for medical assistance programs or medical insurance; we are not a sales channel for insurance companies or medical assistance companies, In addition, we are very competitive in the response time to our customers, the credit is disbursed from the day of the survey of the information in the business in a period of 24-48 hours maximum, we provide free technical assistance workshops related to the activity of the microentrepreneur and we also do social responsibility workshops.
We are flexible in terms of documentation, agile in terms of response time, we are socially responsible with our clients, and we are competitive in terms of the fee that the client pays for his credit.
Mission
"To contribute to the fight against poverty and unemployment in the country's economy, supporting micro-entrepreneurs with economic and technical resources, so that they can improve their entrepreneurial potential and reach levels of personal growth and empowerment”
Vision
"Faces leads the development of microenterprises in Ecuador, with a socially responsible management system and recognized for the quality of its service and innovative products."
Company name | FACES 2 |
CEO | Luis Palacios Burneo |
Founded | 1991-01-01 |
Location | Loja |
Sector | Agriculture |
Turnover | $1,940,000 |
Employees | 223 |
Credit score | 3.40 |
Impact
FACES is a non-profit microfinance institution in Ecuador with a strong gender focus. They work hard on serving female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in agricultural and rural areas.
Ecuador has approximately 900,000 businesses, 99% of which are microenterprises and SMEs, which create 60% of all jobs.
Via its 19 branches, FACES currently serves small entrepreneurs in 4 provinces offering individual and group loans. The provinces they operate in are among the poorest in Ecuador, with almost half the population living below the poverty line.
Ecuador is a world leader in female-led enterprises. However, access to financing is more limited for them than for similar enterprises led by men. FACES focuses on addressing this gender gap identified in the financial sector. In 2020, 53.88% of their clients were women. 50.55% of the microenterprises financed are managed by women, who mainly operate in the informal economy.
Research shows that women in emerging markets invest 90 cents of each extra dollar they earn in their families and immediate environments. This translates into better schooling, healthcare, overall lifestyle, and eventually economic growth.
SDGs impacted
With this project, you are contributing to the following Sustainable Development Goals:
SDG 1 - No poverty
SDG 5 - Gender equality
SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth
SDG 10 - Reduced inequalities
Read more about the impact you can make through our platform and the SDGs on our impact page.
Related blog posts
- There’s more to learn about FACES as a new investment opportunity in their introduction.
- Did you know female entrepreneurs are essential for a powerful economy?
- Investor and guest blogger Marlous wrote an introduction for you to learn more about gender lens investing.
- Want to learn more about how financial inclusion can thrive entrepreneurship? Read here.
- Have a look at the many other microfinance institutions in our portfolio.
- With this investment 10 jobs are created
- With this investment 500 lives are improved