WOCCU Joins Amazonia Finance Network

Elissa McCarter LaBorde shakes hands with Marisela Alvarenga, Chief Investment Officer at IDB Invest.

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) this week joined the Amazonia Finance Network (AFN), an alliance comprised of more than 50 international, regional and national financial organizations dedicated to promoting socioeconomic, environmental and sustainable development in the Amazon Region.
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WOCCU President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde signed the Joint Statement of Intent from the Amazonia Finance Network, which outlines a need to improve the income and standard of living of local populations in the Amazon region, including indigenous people and traditional communities.

“We appreciate the need for adequate financing and technical support, the need to promote the exchange of good practices, and facilitate the investment of resources to maximize impact. We will focus on providing technical assistance to enterprises to increase productivity, while conserving and restoring the Amazon region. Financial inclusion, the reduction of inequalities and the promotion of employment and income generating activities, particularly for low-income populations will be a key goal,” reads a portion of the joint statement.

To reach its goals, the AFN is focusing its activities in seven priority workstreams, including:

• Financial inclusion.
• SMEs.
• Agribusiness and forestry.
• Carbon finance.
• Innovative finance and product design.
• Outreach and partnerships.
• Public-private partnership.

By signing on to the joint statement of intent, WOCCU joins Sicredi, Sicoob and Cresol, its member credit union organizations in Brazil, and Jardin Azuayo, one of the largest credit unions in Ecuador, as a fellow AFN member.

“World Council of Credit Unions is dedicated to promoting more equitable and resilient communities through its global network of financial cooperatives. Membership in the Amazonia Financial Network gives us an opportunity to do that in one of the hardest-to-reach areas and a critical ecosystem for our planet, by partnering with public and private agencies that can help credit unions extend financing to these communities,” said McCarter LaBorde.

IDB Invest and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched the Amazonia Finance Network during COP 28, the 2023 United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, with the support of 24 founding signatories from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

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