Ecuador

In Ecuador, DGRV works across the country to strengthen the cooperative sector, with a particular focus on financial cooperatives. To foster financial inclusion, the project supports savings and credit cooperatives in delivering innovative, high-quality products and services to their members and clients. Special emphasis is placed on sustainable financing and promoting gender equality.

The country is home to more than 17.500 cooperatives, 6 of every 10 adults are part of the cooperative sector. The cooperative financial sector maintains 6.220 branches all over the country, whereas 41% are situated in the sector of high rurality and 22% in places of strong poverty. The financial cooperative sector holds an important stake of approximately 30% of the total finance sector.

DGRV supports national institutions, such as the supervisory authority for cooperatives (SEPS), by providing advice on legislative proposals and offering training for staff to improve oversight and regulation. In addition, the publicly owned second-tier bank for the cooperative sector, CONAFIPS, has been receiving technical assistance from DGRV since 2022.

In cooperation with several associations and local networks, DGRV promotes good governance and social responsibility by using software developed by DGRV to support its member organizations in these areas.

DGRV also works directly with savings and credit cooperatives. The software provided can help assess credit risks for small loans – to support daily operations. These solutions are designed to promote financial inclusion, especially in rural areas, and to ensure that savings are managed responsibly and efficiently.

In addition, DGRV supports the development of green credit lines – financial products that help fund environmentally friendly investments.  In this line, DGRV has developed an Environmental and Social Risk Management System to better administer these kinds of risks in the financial cooperatives.