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Served 29,294 clients and disbursed more than $14 million in new loans during 2020. -
When the 1st case of COVID-19 was reported, we immediately implemented a phone strategy to educate our more than 22,000 clients about the virus and provide emotional support and small business solutions. See the 2020 Timeline. -
Gave all clients a two-month grace period in April and May so they would not have to choose between their loan payment and buying food for their families. -
Executed an Emergency Food Relief Program, resulting in: -
$65,000+ in donations raised -
Coordination of food purchasing and packaging -
Disbursement of 3,300 food kits to clients and their families in rural areas of Guatemala -
Effectively feeding more than 15,000 people facing severe hunger -
Pivoted our Health for Life program to telehealth services so that clients could access health services with our nurses, even during the lockdowns. -
Handmade by Friendship Bridge sold more than $80,500 of products created by 33 artisan clients and their families and employees. $65,000 went directly to our clients and 129 people were employed by them. -
Non-Formal Education continued through the year despite the pandemic, both through automated and direct calls from staff, despite not being able to meet physically in much of the country. |
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Ensured all staff had the tools they needed to work from home during the pandemic and implemented home office and COVID protocols successfully. -
Purchased and shipped throughout Guatemala more than $25,000 of COVID-19 protective and sanitizing equipment for all our offices. As an essential business in the country, we continued to staff all offices following the initial 2-month lock-down. -
Launched Mi Puente, an internal online communications system serving as the main means of collaboration for all employees, critical to sharing information during the pandemic. -
Initiated a new online learning platform to provide staff with training and professional development tools from our internal Friendship University. Achieved nearly 13,000 hours of employee training during the year. |
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Even during this crisis, our portfolio quality continues to be one of the best in the Microfinance industry with full-year write-offs of less than 3%, a client retention rate of 76.8%, and PAR>30 of 2.03%. -
Nearly 95% of our clients were making their loan repayments by the end of 2020, exceeding our expectations and allowing us to plan for the future with a clear path forward. -
Secured sufficient liquidity during the year to ensure operations would not be interrupted by raising nearly $800,000 in new capital and rolling over our $1.6 million Private Placement investment. -
Obtained the Great Place to Work certification for the 2nd year, positioning ourselves as one of the best companies to work for in Central America. -
Hosted 3 Virtual Insight Trips from Guatemala, allowing our U.S. supporters to virtually “visit” with our clients and staff, stay connected, and see the impact of our products and services. -
Published our 1st digital Annual Report in English and Spanish. -
Raised over $1 million in charitable contributions including donations, fundraising events, insight trips, and grants. |
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