New Oikocredit partnership with cooperative Lucha Campesina assists Ecuadorean smallholder farmers and rural development

Amersfoort, the Netherlands – Social impact investor Oikocredit has made a new investment to support savings and credit cooperative Lucha Campesina in Ecuador in increasing its inclusive finance services for smallholder cultivators and livestock producers.

Repayable over three years, Oikocredit’s USD 2 million local currency loan to Lucha Campesina marks another step in the worldwide cooperative’s mission to contribute to meaningful and lasting change in the communities it serves. The Ecuadorean cooperative will use the finance to amplify its agricultural microfinance programme promoting rural development.

Lucha Campesina, based in Cumandá, Chimborazo province, operates nine branches, one counter and 22 non-banking rural solidarity correspondents. It provides financial services to micro entrepreneurs, smallholder farmers and salaried individuals in both rural and urban areas across four Ecuadorean provinces: Cañar, Chimborazo, Guayas and Los Ríos.

Juan Carlos Zambrano, General Manager of Lucha Campesina, said: “For us, being a partner of Oikocredit is recognition of our responsible management and commitment to financial inclusion. It encourages us to continue promoting sustainable projects that help transform lives and strengthen rural and agricultural community development. It reaffirms our vision of building a more equitable and opportunity-filled future for our members and their families.”

Carla Urresta, Oikocredit’s Investment Officer for the Andean region, said: “We are delighted and proud to establish this new partnership with Lucha Campesina. We look forward to working together in promoting access to microcredit for Ecuadorean smallholder farmers to help them boost their productivity, and in supporting job creation in the cooperative’s areas of influence.”

About Lucha Campesina

Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Lucha Campesina began as a rural development project in Ecuador funded by the missionaries of the CERS community in the USA. The cooperative has since grown into a regulated financial institution dedicated to enhancing the economic and social wellbeing of its members.

Lucha Campesina provides and supports inclusive financial services, technical training for farmers, financial education – including courses for women and young students – and community projects.

For more information, visit https://luchacampesina.fin.ec.

About Oikocredit

Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has nearly five decades of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy.

Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably.

Oikocredit finances more than 520 partners, with total outstanding capital of EUR 1,029.8 million (at September 2024). For more information, visit www.oikocredit.coop.

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Note for editors

For more information or to request an interview, please contact: Viviana Cordero, Communications Business Partner, Oikocredit International, telephone: +31 33 422 4040, email: vcordero@oikocredit.org.