Back to the news
Fortalecer is a savings and credit cooperative set up in 1998 to refinance the micro-credit portfolios of NGO programs in Peru. It refinances only its members, whether for urban or rural microfinance activities. SIDI is the cooperative’s main shareholder.
Peru is a middle-income country with significant natural resources, both mineral and food. Almost a third of the population lives in Lima. There are major inequalities between the urban areas and the Andean or Amazonian zones, where the majority of the population is indigenous. Peru is experiencing repeated political crises (5 Presidents of the Republic in 6 years, ten Prime Ministers in the same period).
Fortalecer is an instrument created by Peruvian NGOs to give them access to medium-term financing (3 years on average) to refinance their micro-credit programmes. Thanks to its investment in this structure, SIDI is able to support around ten micro-credit programmes throughout Peru. The aim of the cooperative is to offer low-interest loans to its members (who in turn lend the money to their beneficiaries).
