WOCCU Launches Last-Mile Innovation to Strengthen Rural Financial Inclusion in Guatemala
Indigenous women and youth prioritized in credit union outreach to isolated villages through WFCU grant
June 17, 2025
MADISON, Wis.—World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) in May partnered with FENACOAC, its member credit union association in Guatemala, to launch the first phase of an innovative last-mile financial inclusion initiative designed to deliver essential services to indigenous women, youth and other marginalized populations in isolated rural villages.
Phase one, made possible through a Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ (WFCU) Rally the Movement grant, includes the implementation of WOCCU’s rural outreach methodology at Acredicom and Tonantel, two credit unions affiliated with FENACOAC's MiCoope System.
The methodology supports the development of policies, processes and technologies that enable the credit unions to deploy trained rural financial advisors in remote areas, bringing savings, credit, insurance, payments and remittance services to last-mile members.
“This initiative brings us back to our cooperative roots—we are reaching out to those who need us the most, those who have been left behind,” said Antonio Aldana, CEO of MiCoope.
The initiative employs a holistic approach that integrates entrepreneurial and financial education, backed by tools WOCCU previously implemented with great success through its Economic Inclusion Project in Peru and Ecuador (2020-25).
The program also marks a cultural shift in cooperative outreach.
“This project challenges the paradigm of waiting for members to come to our offices. Now we are going to them, embodying the principles of inclusion and cooperation,” said Elio Armando Estrada, CEO of Cooperativa Tonantel.
The pilot phase will expand to a total of five credit unions and run through the end of 2025. The long-term objective is to scale the model across MiCoope’s entire network, extending its impact to thousands of rural Guatemalans.
WOCCU’s support of this rural outreach methodology underscores its global commitment to advancing financial inclusion through member-led cooperative systems, empowering underserved communities and strengthening the cooperative sector’s transformative role in sustainable development.
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is the apex association for credit unions and other global financial cooperatives. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 74,634 credit unions in 104 countries serve 411 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
E-mail: gneumann@woccu.org
Phone: +1 608-395-2048
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