Latin America
ECLOF has been working in Latin America since 1969 when ECLOF Argentina was opened. Today, ECLOF serves around 27,000 clients in Latin American and the Caribbean. 71% of them are women and 23% live in rural areas. The majority of loans are given to individual borrowers, one in four of them is younger than 35. In Latin America, ECLOF addresses both rural and vulnerable urban areas.
Given the high level of urbanization and the increasing rural exodus Latin American societies face, ECLOF aims to create conditions in rural and agricultural communities that will entice young people to stay, while it also helps impoverished urban populations establish a productive activity or address pressing needs like that for decent housing. Examples are the training program on responsible use of fertilizers provided by ECLOF in Colombia and the award-winning home improvement program in the Dominican Republic.
