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Our Partners

The ECLOF International Story

Across the developing world, there are people of talent and ambition who aspire to take control of their own lives—to reap the benefits of their labor and initiative while furthering the development of their communities. Together, the efforts of these men and women could gradually transform their countries’ economies, putting an end to stagnation and rampant poverty and ushering in a new era of growth and self-sufficiency.

These potential change agents are often stymied, however, by the absence of an adequate financial infrastructure—by the impossibility of gaining access to even minimal credit. In many countries, banks don’t make loans to individuals, discount the value of small enterprises, don’t lend in rural areas, or charge prohibitively high rates of interest. In such countries, precious human capital is being squandered, with devastating long-term consequences.

Aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries typically need only modest loans to start or expand their small businesses. They are eager to prove their credit¬worthiness, eager to show what they can do in the competitive marketplace when given a chance. They don’t want a handout. They want a partner. And in over 30 countries, a growing number of them have found just such a partner in ECLOF— the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund.

What sets ECLOF International apart?

• ECLOF has a proven strategy for harnessing the pent-up entrepreneurial potential in developing countries through microlending. Through ECLOF loans, aspiring small-scale business people, farmers, artisans, and others can become a force for economic and social development, creating new jobs and seeding future growth.

• ECLOF’s lending builds capacity and self-reliance. ECLOF loans promote development from within. ECLOF focuses on enabling the families and groups we work with to mobilize and effectively utilize their resources (both human and natural) to foster sustainable development.

• ECLOF catalyzes incremental, grassroots economic development— development rooted in shared values and common dreams. An alternative to the externally-driven model of globalization that provokes resentment and resistance in some quarters, ECLOF’s strategy of credit-supported, locally-driven development furthers the goal of an equitable world economy based on partnership and open to the contributions of all peoples.

A unique combination of principle and performance, ECLOF International...

is truly ecumenical. In its operations, ECLOF is wholly non-denominational. Its work is inspired by the message of the Gospel, but it makes loans without regard to creed. It is particularly attentive to groups, and the rural poor.

practices sustainability. ECLOF strives to be a model of the sustainable development that it champions. When loans are repaid, the principal is re-lent; a portion of the interest paid on loans is used to support ECLOF’s administrative functions. Thus the organization exemplifies in its own operations the careful husbanding of resources and the long-term orientation that it seeks to promote.
has an outstanding track record. Founded at the end of World War II to help rebuild the devastated churches of Europe, ECLOF is one of the pioneers of microlending in the developing world. Its work is carried out through self-governing National ECLOF Committees (NECs) established in all its countries of engagement. Coordinated by a small headquarters staff in Geneva, this decentralized network of NECs provides extraordinary on-the-ground capacity for making loans that encourage enterprise, respond to pressing local needs, and have a high likelihood of repayment.

emphasizes explicit standards, transparency, and accountability. To ensure consistency and accountability, ECLOF has promulgated worldwide standards of performance—an extraordinary feat for a non-governmental organization working in such diverse environments.

Success Stories