Mifex Credit Union aims to alleviate poverty in the urban slums and rural sectors in Ecuador by providing financial products and social services directly to those in need. Through our microfinance program, we provide the owners of very small businesses (microentrepreneurs) the ability to save for the future and take out loans that allow them to make investments in their businesses. We also provide entrepreneurial training and development services to the community in order to promote the creation and growth of successful microenterprises. Mifex Credit Union members not only have access to our products and services, they also comprise the ownership and governing body of the organization. Every person in Ecuador that is saving and borrowing from Mifex is legally obligated to own at least a small part of the Credit Union.
The most unique part about Mifex Credit Union is that our operations are fully backed by the investments and savings of socially conscious people. We are among the first institutions to utilize the Kiva.org peer-to-peer lending model, where social investors from all around the world can directly support a microenterprise through the Internet. In Ecuador, we also offer local altruistic investors attractive financial and social returns on their savings. With each loan that we distribute, each social investment we receive, and each person that joins us, Mifex Credit Union gets closer to bridging the gap between poverty and prosperity in Ecuador.
Mifex was created as a community development financial institution. Our founding team comprises of local microfinance experts, Stanford and UC graduates, and other individuals interested in creating a business that has social returns equal to or greater than financial returns.
The urban lending program was started in April 2006 as the first microfinance operation to be fully funded by Kiva.org (a non-profit also started by Stanford graduates). Thanks to the support of the Kiva lenders, we have been able to provide microcredit to over 250 businesses in the poorest communities of Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Early in 2007 Mifex officially became a credit union. The advantage of having a credit union is that every member has ownership over the organization. As a whole, the partners decide the direction of the organization and profits are shared by all parties involved. This all results in financial services that are more accessible, affordable and equitable than those provided by private financial institutions.