Oikocredit, IDB Invest and Cooperativa Jardín Azuayo announce groundbreaking diversity and inclusion social bond

Social impact investor Oikocredit and IDB Invest are each providing US$ 10 million to Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Jardín Azuayo in Ecuador as a highly innovative gender, diversity and inclusion social bond with performance-based incentives.

Cooperativa Jardín Azuayo will use the finance to promote and expand access to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ecuador owned or led by women, people with low incomes or low educational attainment, members of Indigenous communities, ethnic minorities and migrants. Jardín Azuayo provides financial services and cooperative education in support of the solidarity economy and a caring society.

Oikocredit’s investing partner, IDB Invest, is the private-sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank. As part of its support, IDB Invest will provide advisory services to Jardín Azuayo in evaluating and improving credit decisions towards women and underrepresented groups and pay a results-based monetary bonus tied to reaching women entrepreneurs, including Indigenous and migrant women.

Read the full press release here