FINCA Azerbaijan Ranked Among Best in the Country

January 2010
The Azerbaijan Microfinance Association has honored FINCA Azerbaijan as one of "the best of the best" of its 26 members during a ceremony attended by directors of Azerbaijan’s National Bank, several cabinet ministers, and leading investors and bankers.

FINCA UK Marks First Anniversary by Hosting Breakfast Symposium

December 2009
Nearly 100 people attended FINCA UK’s second annual symposium, “Businesswomen Helping Businesswomen,” held Thursday, December 3rd, in the Central London offices of Covington & Burling LLP. The event was generously sponsored by Credit Suisse.

FINCA Shares Learning on Innovations in Microfinance

October 7, 2009
Women in the developing world play a crucial role as economic catalysts, despite their limited access to financial services, health care and education. How we better serve them through innovative financial products and services was the focal point of discussion during a recent event for FINCA supporters and thought leaders in New York City.

FINCA Armenia Celebrates Ten Years of Changing Lives

September 2009
Founded in 1999, FINCA Armenia is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month, continuing to set high standards for both the region and the FINCA network.

GE Capital Global Banking Continues Support for Village Banking Campaign

August 2009
GE Capital Global Banking continues its $1.5 million, three-year commitment to FINCA’s Village Banking Campaign goal of reaching one million of the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs with small loans, insurance and savings products. FINCA will use the second installment of $500,000 to provide loan capital for poor entrepreneurs – the vast majority of them women and mothers – in two of its neediest programs,  Jordan and Haiti, and to further expand its client impact research.

FINCA Zambia Welcomes Special Visitors

August 2009
A non-official congressional staff delegation met with FINCA Zambia Village Bank clients, and attended two Village Bank meetings during a recent educational visit to the impoverished country.

New FINCA Documentary Features Natalie Portman

July 20, 2009

FINCA Mexico: Stories of Hope,” a moving new documentary, features Golden Globe Award winner Natalie Portman—FINCA’s Ambassador of Hope—visiting clients of the FINCA program in Mexico to learn of their struggles, triumphs, and determination to craft a better future for their families. The film was directed by Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary director Juan Carlos Rulfo.

John Hatch Named 2009 National Peace Corps Sargent Shriver Award Recipient
Recognized for Distinguished Humanitarian Service

June 15, 2009
The National Peace Corps Association has named FINCA’s founder and former Peace Corps volunteer John Hatch the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service. The Shriver Award is presented to a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who continues to make a sustained and distinguished contribution to humanitarian causes at home or abroad, or is an innovative social entrepreneur whose actions will bring about significant long-term change.

FINCA Kyrgyzstan Surpasses 100,000 Client Mark

April 2009
In April 2009, FINCA Kyrgyzstan became the second program in FINCA’s 21-country global network to pass the 100,000-client milestone, continuing to set high standards for both the region and the network. 

FINCA Ranks in Top 1 Percent of Best Run Charities
Earns 4-Star Rating for Seventh Consecutive Year

March 2009

For the sixth consecutive year, FINCA International has earned Charity Navigator's "coveted 4-star rating for sound fiscal management." In its letter to FINCA, the largest charity-evaluating organization in the U.S. writes that "Only 1% of the charities we rate have received at least 7 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that FINCA International consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America. This "exceptional" designation from Charity Navigator differentiates FINCA International from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust." 

FINCA International Broadens Outreach to Donors and Investors by Launching UK Affiliate

December 2008
FINCA UK has been created as nonprofit charitable organization with the goal of increasing FINCA's public outreach in the UK and Europe. In addition, this new entity will make it easier for FINCA International to mobilize funding from English and Welsh donors while providing them with tax relief. 

FINCA Jordan Inaugurated

February 2008
Jordan's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah visited FINCA Jordan clients and officially inaugurated the program, which made its first loans on November 18.

FINCA Launches Village Banking Campaign

May 2007
Jordan's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and Academy Award-nominated actress Natalie Portman co-chair effort to bring Village Banking to millions of the world’s poorest; announce expansion into Middle East and grant from AIG.

Strategic Partnership with Johns Hopkins University for HIV/AIDS Reduction

March 2007
Ninety-five percent of new HIV infections occur in developing countries. Africa, struggling with severe poverty and ill-equipped to respond to a major public health threat, has been the hardest hit. A new FINCA partnership holds great promise to ease the burdens HIV/AIDS imposes on our clients in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa – and one where more than 14% of the population is HIV positive. 

Natalie Portman Highlights Support for FINCA in Harper's Bazaar Cover Story

February 2007
Co-Chair of the Village Banking Campaign and FINCA Ambassador of Hope Natalie Portman, featured in a recent cover story in Harper’s Bazaar, discusses her support for FINCA and her visits to Village Banks in Ecuador, Guatemala and Uganda. See the  article [PDF] (photograph by Peter Lindbergh, courtesy of Harper's Bazaar).

FINCA Reaches Half Million Clients

January 2007
FINCA International reached a major new milestone in January 2007 by surpassing the 500,000-client mark. 

Wall Street Journal Highlights FINCA’s Pioneering Microinsurance Strategic Alliance with AIG

January 2007
Fred Adriko—the son of a FINCA Uganda Village Banking client—only learned his mother had taken out a credit life insurance policy with her FINCA loan when he received a payment after she was killed in a car crash. The benefit—over four months of income for an average Ugandan—will enable Mr. Adriko to take care of his family’s needs, until they can replace the income from his mother’s produce business. The insurance also covered his mother’s loan.

FINCA Unveils Village Banking Campaign Commitment at Clinton Global Initiative

October 2006
FINCA International announced an ambitious new campaign commitment at the recent Clinton Global Initiative in New York. Former President Clinton praised FINCA's pledge—aimed at operating 100,000 Village Banks and bringing critical services to millions in the developing world— in a rare, special recognition in his remarks.

FINCA Congratulates Nobel Peace Prize Winners Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank

October 2006
FINCA International extends congratulations to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank on winning the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Please read our statement on this exciting recognition of the power of microfinan