Through its Aequitas Impact Fund, the Canadian NGO Desjardins International Development recently lent USD 1 million to the nonprofit Asociación para el Desarrollo Integral de Guatemala (ADIGUA). ADIGUA was founded in the city of Sololá, Guatemala, in 2003 to support micro- and small enterprises. The NGO offers group and individual loans for business purposes, farming and housing improvements. It serves 3,800 customers – nearly half of whom are women – via seven branches as of 2023. The average outstanding customer loan size is USD 2,400.
Established in 2021, Aequitas has a volume of CAD 50 million (USD 38 million) that it is deploying as debt and equity to support smaller microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as they work to increase financial inclusion and gender equality as well as manage climate change.
DID is a unit of the cooperative Desjardins Group that was established in 1970 to promote economic development in low- and moderate-income countries. As of 2023, DID works in 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Desjardins Group serves 7.5 million customers with a range of financial services.
By Anaya Jhaveri, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Direct contact with DID
ADIGUA homepage
https://www.adigua.org
Aequitas description
https://www.desjardins.com/qc/en/about-us/community/international-development/impact-investment.html
Desjardins Group homepage
https://www.desjardins.com
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