ACCION International, a pioneer and leader in microfinance,  announced last Thursday that it has been awarded the Inter-American Development Bank’s “Juscelino Kubitschek Award” for its contributions to economic and financial development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

ACCION was recognized by the IDB specifically for its work in microfinance – the provision of small, working-capital loans, savings products and other financial tools designed to help people work their way out of poverty with dignity and pride.

Created to mark the 50th anniversary of the IDB’s founding, the award drew nominations from 145 organizations representing 22 countries in the Americas and Europe. It is the largest award granted by a multilateral institution in Latin American and the Caribbean, and carries with it a prize of $100,000.

According to the IDB, ACCION was selected for the magnitude of its social impact in the region, which began in Latin America in 1961 with community-development projects in Venezuela. ACCION first experimented with microlending in Recife, Brazil as early as 1973. Other pioneering work has included the creation of the first international network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), in 1983; the first loan guarantee fund for MFIs, in 1984; and the founding, in 1992, of Bolivia’s BancoSol, the first private commercial bank for the poor.

Today, the network of partner microfinance institutions it helped to found delivers financial services to nearly 3 million entrepreneurial poor across the region.  We here at SocialEarth commend ACCION’s work which improves the live’s of millions of individuals through a sustainable business model.

• Provide people with financial tools to lift themselves out of poverty
• Website: www.accion.org
• Founder(s):Joseph Blatchford
• Founded:1961
• Location:Boston, MA, USA
• See complete company list here

Contributor Profile: Erik

Erik is a perpetually curious social innovator. As a serial entrepreneur, Erik knows a thing or two about change. As a co-founder of SocialEarth, Erik hopes to channel his passion for social advocacy into an innovative venue of social awareness for others. Website: SocialEarth
Twitter: @erikeliason

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