FINCA Microfinance gets $ 30, 000 from Lockheed Martin

Microfinance Focus, May 21, 2010: Washington based FINCA, has recently received $ 30, 000 from Lockheed Martin, a global security company. Funding will provide much-needed loan capital for FINCA’s clients in Afghanistan and El Salvador, and support FINCA Haiti’s Relief Fund efforts, as both clients and staff begin the long road to recovery, following the devastating earthquake of January 12th.  

FINCA President and CEO Rupert Scofield said, “We are grateful for Lockheed Martin’s support for FINCA’s activities around the world, with particular emphasis on Afghanistan, El Salvador and Haiti. We welcome them as the newest partner in our 25-year quest to alleviate poverty by providing the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs with the financial services tools they need to work their way out of poverty.”

Lockheed Martin Readiness & Stability Operations President Mike Dignam said, “Microfinance loans make an impressive impact on the lives of impoverished people.  We’re proud to support FINCA’s efforts to help entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, El Salvador and Haiti develops businesses that will sustain themselves and their families.” Lockheed Martin is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Founded in 2004, FINCA Afghanistan provides financial services, which conform to Islamic principles, to nearly 15,000 individuals. Some 36 percent of Afghanistan’s 28.4 million people live below the poverty line, with between three and eight million micro-entrepreneurs earning livelihoods in the country’s informal sector. FINCA El Salvador, founded in 1990, has operations throughout the country and provides loans to nearly 9,000 of the country’s poorest citizens, 80% of whom are women. Nearly 31 percent of the population lives below the nation’s poverty line. For these individuals, a small working capital loan from FINCA can make a huge difference in their ability to generate a reliable family income. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 80 percent of the population living in abject poverty. FINCA Haiti has been providing much-needed financial services since 1989. Before the January 12th earthquake, the program provided financial services to almost 12,000 people — 94% of them women — who spend less than $1 a day per household member.

© 2010, Microfinance News. All rights reserved. 2008-09