FACES – Ecuador
FACES – Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador – is a private non-for-profit organisation (NGO) created in 1991 by local professionals to overcome the lack of government support in one of the poorest regions of the country. Its mission is to fight poverty and unemployment in urban and rural economy, promoting micro-enterprise development through the provision of adapted sustainable financial services. The institution promotes micro-entrepreneurs, especially women, to develop their potential and improve their standard of living and self-esteem.
FACES is active in three departments in the southern region bordering Peru, El Oro, Zamora Chinchipe and Loja. This is one of the poorest regions of Ecuador with poverty rates well above the average of the country .
Aside CrediUrgen, dedicated to customers who are facing an emergency situation (death, …), all credits of FACES are for investments in micro-enterprises or financing of working capital. Free and optional trainings are offered to borrowers on social issues, health or financial education and management. Each month, two training sessions are delivered in each agency.
In 2014, a medical team was put up that makes free prevention for borrowers but also their family / neighborhood if they wish to. Each year a part of FACES’s result (about 15%) is used for the financing of non-financial services.
