Originally published: August 19, 2008
Source: ACE Group
ACE Foundation International has announced a grant of US$100,000 BanIgualdad, a Chilean non-profit organization that offers a microenterprise program to provide innovative and sustainable self-help educational solutions to fight against chronic poverty. Based on the ‘village banking model,’ this microfinance initiative will bring microloans and education to more than 1,400 women and their families living in rural Chile. It will also enable BanIgualdad’s staff to provide women with entrepreneurial skills and train them in basic business concepts.
ACE Foundation is part of the ACE Group which provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance products. Founded in 2001 as the Chilean Action Foundation, BanIgualdad has offered a number of educational social programs, including the Confidence Fund, a microcredit program that between 2001 and 2005 has provided more than 2,000 microfinance loans to rural women entrepreneurs.