FINCA Results

Measuring Our Impact

Social Performance Management

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  • Approach
    • FINCA’s Mission
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    • Women’s Empowerment
    • Clients’ Goals
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Guatemala

With over 16 million inhabitants, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America. Up to 80 percent of people in rural and indigenous communities are living in poverty, where they face malnutrition and maternal mortality. Due to extreme income inequality, the overall rate of poverty has grown to more than half of the total population, despite several years of economic growth.

FINCA Guatemala is one of our founding subsidiaries, dating back to 1989. The subsidiary has long maintained a strong focus on reaching women, including many who live in traditional communities throughout the country. While remaining true to FINCA's original spirit, embodied in the Village Banking model, FINCA Guatemala has also diversified its services to include individual credit, money transfers and insurance.

Explore Guatemala Data ↓

Financial Inclusion

Guatemala:
Reaching the Financially Excluded

56% Adult population financially excluded
27,078 65% Female borrowers Second-highest in the world, right after FINCA Haiti. % #
41,380 Total FINCA clients
21,931 53% Borrowers in rural areas Highest outside of Eurasia. % #
41,380 Total FINCA borrowers

Financial exclusion affects more than 50 percent of adults. The situation is worse for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, where financial exclusion reaches 70 percent. This limits their access to resources and leaves them with few options to finance their homes and businesses.

FINCA Guatemala has a strong outreach to disadvantaged people. Four out of five borrowers are female, which ranks FINCA Guatemala among the highest in the network together with Jordan and Haiti. Meanwhile, over half of our customers live in rural areas, representing the highest rural penetration in the region.

View All Financial Inclusion Data

Living Standards

Guatemala:
Quality of Life

6,207 15% Client homes without water % #
4,138 10% Client homes without electricity % #
17,380 42% Client homes without access to Internet % #
6,207 15% Clients who don’t own their home % #
31,821 77% Head of household with primary education or less This is the second-highest percentage in the world, just after Afghanistan. % #

The level of basic services available to our customers in Guatemala is generally on par with the Latin America region overall, particularly the share of households without access to running water or electricity.

Even in a region marked by low educational levels, however, Guatemala stands out. It has the highest share of households whose primary breadwinner has less than a secondary education. Further complicating this issue, many indigenous families speak Spanish as a second language, which further limits their job opportunities.

View All Living Standards Data

Income & Employment

Guatemala:
Income & Employment

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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Explore FINCA Loan Sectors
View All Income & Employment Data

Women’s Empowerment

Guatemala:
Empowering Women

27,078 65% Female borrowers Second-highest in the world, right after FINCA Haiti. % #
5,177 13% Clients with female-headed household % #
12,943 31% Households with female as main earner Guatemala is exceptional in that most of our female clients are secondary earners. % #

Women's family role in Guatemala mirrors more traditional norms. They are usually members of a two-parent household, and Guatemala is one of the few countries where the majority of our female borrowers are not the main source of income for their household. (Afghanistan, another highly traditional society, is the other.) FINCA's female clients are either working closely with a spouse or providing a supplemental source of income that helps the family meet basic needs. This still leaves one third of the families we serve who do depend primarily on a woman's income — they just aren't the majority. The prevalence of two-earner households and strong family traditions is also evident in the low incidence of single motherhood.

View All Women’s Empowerment Data

Clients’ Goals

Guatemala:
Attaining Business and Personal Goals

Goals Set By FINCA Borrowers
Goals Met By FINCA Borrowers

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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View All Clients’ Goals Data

Special Topics

Guatemala:
Poverty, Economic Sectors, Jobs and Profits

FINCA Loan Sectors

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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Profit and Profit/Sales Ratio by Sector

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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Jobs by Sector Due to FINCA Loan

No data has been collected yet for this indicator in Guatemala.

The support of FINCA donors is vital to our efforts to understand our clients and better serve them. Please Donate to support this important work.

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Latin America Stories

Annesse Aristild and Kerlande Toussaint and their youngest child in front of their school in Gonaives, Haiti

Tenacity and Courage Ensure that Kids Get an Education

Kerlande Toussaint and her husband have proven that with tenacity and courage that they can thrive in the face of adversity. Read...
Read Kerlande's Story
Paula Calabay and her two daughters

FINCA Loans Support Guatemalan Weaving

Thanks to FINCA loans, Paula Calabay has been able to find success in the ancient art of weaving and support her two...
Read Paula's Story
Nicolasa Sacay weaving on her loom

Weaving a Better Future

Nicolasa lost her mother when she was young and grew up in poverty. Today she is weaving a better future for her...
Read Nicolasa's Story

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