WASHINGTON, D.C., June 7, 2022—Accion today announced a commitment, in partnership with Fundación Génesis Empresarial (Génesis) and enabled by initial support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, to expand financial services to 1 million people across Central America’s Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras within the next five years. The commitment will be formally announced at an event hosted by the Partnership for Central America, of which Accion is a founding member, at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
This commitment builds on Accion’s 35-year partnership with Génesis to develop innovative, inclusive financial products that address inequities, build financial health, and strengthen livelihoods, particularly among women, as well as a global partnership with Mastercard to digitally transform the lives of microbusiness owners around the world.
Accion and Génesis plan to catalyze an innovation ecosystem for fintech startups focused on agricultural and small business clients. This ecosystem will empower women founders and other startup founders focused on social innovation to access business and technology partnerships, data exchange standards, open banking frameworks, and funding. Génesis’ comprehensive and technology-driven approach has an amplifying effect across business owners’ households and communities, ultimately enabling more inclusive and resilient economic development throughout the region.
Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion, said: “The global recovery from the pandemic is extremely unequal, and in Latin America, people are dealing with some of the most severe economic consequences from this drawn-out crisis. This economic hardship is contributing to ongoing mass migration from the Northern Triangle. But as technology rapidly moves the global economy online, financial institutions have a unique opportunity to digitize and reach underserved clients. By understanding the needs of the most vulnerable, providers can empower people to build better lives within their communities. We look forward to working with our partners to help make that possible.”
Edgardo Pérez Preciado, General Manager of Génesis, said: “We are proud and honored to join efforts, in partnering with Accion and Mastercard, to provide financial and digital solutions to the most underserved populations, with the objective of improving their quality of life both socially and economically. Accion has been a pillar in the improvement of our digital and bill payment ecosystem, and we expect to export these platforms to El Salvador and Honduras in the near future. We also look forward to expanding access for rural customers in Guatemala through our educational platforms. This ecosystem will enable increased productivity for our rural smallholder farmer customers, especially women, as well as better housing opportunities and improvement of micro businesses.”
Accion’s new commitment specifically includes:
- Working with local partners to triple Accion’s previously stated commitment, expanding digital financial tools, including solutions for smallholder farmers, to a total of more than 300,000 people in Guatemala within the next five years, with a focus on women and Indigenous people.
- A new pledge with key stakeholders to expand digital financial and business services to over 700,000 vulnerable micro and small business owners in El Salvador and Honduras, also within the next five years.
Over its history, Accion has worked with more than 45 microfinance institutions, fintechs, and other financial service providers in Latin America to help them develop and deliver affordable, high-quality financial services to underserved populations.
About Accion
Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of — or poorly served by — the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. More at accion.org.