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Inclusive Finances

The Inclusive Finances (Finanzas Inclusivas) project strengthens the competitiveness of financial institutions and expands services and products for vulnerable populations and their businesses, promoting their economic development and inclusion in the formal financial system.
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Petén guatemala
 
16.912033
-90.2995785
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Alta Verapaz
15.5942883
-90.14949879999999
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Baja Verapaz
15.1255867
-90.37483540000001
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Quiché guatemala
15.4983808
-90.9820668
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Retalhuleu guatemala
14.5245485
-91.685788
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Suchitepéquez
14.4215982
-91.4048249
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Totonicapán
14.9173402
-91.36139229999999
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Sololá guatemala
14.7666085
-91.17850159999999
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Quetzaltenango
14.8446068
-91.5231866
Guatemala
Project duration
2024 - 2027
Financed by
  • Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

In Guatemala, the problem of access to financial services is intensified in rural areas, where the indicators of financial inclusion progressively decrease as rurality increases. This disparity creates significant gaps and considerably limits the potential for economic development in these less favoured areas.

For micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), financial inclusion is an essential factor for their growth and sustainable development. Access to monetary and non-monetary financial products that are appropriate to their needs plays a crucial role, aligning with fundamental objectives such as the generation of well-being and the reduction of poverty. However, various obstacles effectively limit the access of SMEs to these financial services, which underlines the need to address these challenges in a comprehensive manner.

Access to the financial system, which encompasses both savings and credit, is a crucial tool for guaranteeing the development of SMEs in Guatemala. However, a substantial barrier lies in the lack of formalisation and registration of these companies, which prevents them from demonstrating their economic strength and growth potential to financial service providers. This limitation on formalisation represents a significant impediment that affects the ability of entrepreneurs to access financing opportunities.

In this context, women entrepreneurs face additional challenges, such as the lack of guarantees, which excludes them from access to credit, despite having data to support their reliability in terms of payment behaviour and financial management. This bias reflects a gender gap in access to financial services and highlights the need for specific measures to address the financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs.

The lack of sufficient social development, formal employment and the inability to incorporate large segments of the population into the economy perpetuate the problems.

The project

The Inclusive Finances Project works together with rural cooperatives and financial institutions to strengthen competitiveness and expand the availability of financial services and products for small and medium-sized enterprises founded by entrepreneurs from vulnerable populations (women, young people, returned migrants, internally displaced persons, people with disabilities and indigenous people) thus complementing the European Union's efforts to promote inclusive rural development and mobilise towards dual transition, as well as Swisscontact's efforts in the formation of new companies and the scaling up of existing companies.

The Project has four main areas of intervention, with cross-cutting pillars aligned to the Global Gateway. These pillars include green finance, digitalisation of financial services, gender equity, development of market systems and the promotion of human rights.

The areas of action are as follows:

  1. Technical assistance to financial institutions.
  2. Capacity building for MSMEs.
  3. Development and implementation of a Challenge Fund.
  4. Optimisation of a guarantee instrument available through a rural cooperative.

Working Areas

General: To expand the availability of financial services and products for SMEs, legal entities and entrepreneurs, to enter and compete in markets and contribute to poverty reduction, human development, improvement of livelihoods and the stimulation of inclusive economic growth, with an emphasis on the rural population and women.

Specific:

  1. Strengthen identified financial institutions and local cooperatives through technical assistance and training processes to improve their capacity to offer monetary and non-monetary financial services adapted to the needs of SMEs and entrepreneurs, with a gender perspective.
  2. Promote the strengthening of SMEs and entrepreneurs to increase their financial inclusion, the empowerment and financial inclusion of rural women, both as users of financial services and as owners of SMEs.
  3. Promote innovative solutions to facilitate the mobilisation of private resources and attract new actors to the rural financial ecosystem, addressing the challenges identified during the implementation of specific objectives 1 and 2, using the ‘Challenge Fund’ mechanism, with an emphasis on rural indigenous women, entrepreneurs and returned migrants.

Project partners

Swisscontact will lead the implementation of the project, working closely with the following implementing partners:

  • COOPSAMA
  • COSAMI RL

Expected Results:

  • Improvement of the institutional capacity to offer sustainable financial products and services adapted to the climatic and social challenges for vulnerable populations and their businesses.
  • Improved access to financial services and sustainable management capacity of SMEs, through technical assistance.
  • Promotion of innovation, digital transformation and green mechanisms through a challenge fund and private sector investment.
  • Promotion, diversification and access for users in financial institutions through a guarantee instrument.