ECLOF International

What ECLOF International does

ECLOF International is a not-for-profit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 1946 as the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund. It serves as the global coordinating hub for a federation of 14 independently governed microfinance institutions (ECLOF members) operating 97 branches across Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania), Asia (India, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka), the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia), and Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica). ECLOF delivers microfinance loans alongside non-financial services — micro insurance, financial literacy training, agricultural best-practices coaching, and community capacity building — to 115,813 active clients, with a USD 45M global portfolio.

The organization's core technology is a microfinance lending platform combined with social performance management systems conforming to the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management (USSPM). Differentiated features include the Beneficiary Welfare Program (a self-managed default-write-off mechanism covering health and natural-disaster shocks, partially funded by a 1% client contribution), a solidarity group-lending model (typically 5-member co-guaranteeing groups), and M-PESA mobile-money integration in Kenya. Product breadth spans microcredit, housing improvement loans (Mejora Fácil), agricultural value-chain finance, education loans, green energy loans, and savings/cooperative services (COOP ECLOF in the Dominican Republic).

ECLOF earns revenue primarily through interest income on microloans (transaction-based pricing on small tickets, typically USD 100 in Myanmar to USD 1,300 for housing), complemented by savings-deposit spreads via the cooperative model, micro insurance commissions, and professional services income from capacity-building programs. Go-to-market is sales-led via field-based loan officers embedded in client communities, with church and community networks providing referrals and governance support. The client base is heavily skewed to women (68%), rural dwellers (59%), smallholder farmers (36%), and youth (27%), with targeted outreach to refugees, indigenous peoples, and HIV-affected women.

Name

ECLOF International

Legal name

ECLOF International

Website

https://eclof.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ECLOF International is a Geneva-based not-for-profit foundation, founded 1946, coordinating a federation of 14 microfinance institutions across Africa, Asia, the Caucasus, and Latin America that delivers microloans and non-financial services to 115,813 disadvantaged clients, primarily women, rural, and agricultural borrowers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microfinance Services

NAICS

Finance and Insurance (52), Sales Financing (52222), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

SME, Microfinance & Financial Inclusion Facilities (BPADACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small Business & Self-Employment Personal Finance (Income, Expenses, Cash Reserves) (EDAAAJAL), Agricultural & Rural Development Banks (FSABAKAE)

Keywords

• Microfinance lending
• Microenterprise finance
• Rural credit services
• Micro insurance products
• Financial inclusion services

Headquarters

HQ city

Le Grand-saconnex

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Microfinance Lending: ECLOF provides micro loans to micro entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers, generating revenue through interest income on loans. Loans are provided for various purposes including agricultural activities, small business development, housing improvement, education, and personal needs.
2. Savings Deposits (COOP ECLOF): Following transformation to cooperative model in Dominican Republic, clients can become shareholders and deposit savings with the cooperative, generating additional capital for lending operations.
3. Non-Financial Services: ECLOF provides non-financial services including micro insurance, capacity building, and training. These services complement the financial products and help clients build capacities to increase yields and improve living conditions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

ECLOF International is a not-for-profit foundation that provides microfinance loans, micro insurance, and complementary non-financial services (capacity building, financial literacy, agricultural and civil society training) to micro entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers through a federated network of 14 independently governed member microfinance institutions across Africa, Asia, the Caucasus, and Latin America. Services are delivered via 97 branches and field-based loan officers serving 115,813 clients with a USD 45 million global portfolio.

Product overview

ECLOF International operates as a not-for-profit foundation that serves as the hub of a network of microfinance institutions. The organization provides a comprehensive suite of financial and non-financial services including microfinance loans (group and individual), micro insurance, and capacity building programs. The product portfolio centers on the core microfinance offering with specialized loan products for agriculture, education, and housing improvement. Non-financial services include financial literacy training, agricultural best practices, and community development support. In 2018, ECLOF Dominican Republic transitioned to a cooperative model (COOP ECLOF), expanding services to include savings deposits alongside continued microcredit operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ECLOF Kenya ranked 2nd out of 72 MFIs worldwide in 60dB MFI Index 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Partners WorldwidemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Christian NGO partnering with ECLOF Ecuador to equip rural entrepreneurs through training programs in Ecuador's highlands.
• Mundo Verde FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Environmental foundation partnering with COOP ECLOF Dominican Republic for reforestation initiatives. Together they organized a day of reforestation planting 500 trees in Cambita Garabitos.
• Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2018ECLOF International joined ICCR, a membership organization building a more just and sustainable world by integrating social values into investor and corporate actions through the lens of faith. ICCR has over 300 members representing faith-based organizations, socially responsible asset management companies, foundations, and other responsible investors managing more than $400 billion in assets. ECLOF and ICCR share common values grounded in faith promoting responsible stewardship through inclusive finance, environmental protection, and equitable access to basic services.
• Agta Indigenous CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2017Indigenous community in General Nakar, Philippines. ECLOF Philippines staff organized community engagement day with the Agta, some of whom are ECLOF clients operating micro businesses.
• ADA (Appui au Developpement Autonome)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Luxembourg-based development organization partnering with ECLOF Dominican Republic to develop the award-winning 'Mejora Facil' housing microfinance product combining loans with technical assistance.
• REDCAMIF (Central American Microfinance Network)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Central American Microfinance Network partnering with ECLOF Dominican Republic to develop the 'Mejora Facil' housing microfinance product.
• REDOMIF (Dominican Microfinance Network)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Dominican Microfinance Network partnering with ECLOF Dominican Republic to develop the 'Mejora Facil' housing microfinance product.
• Habitat for HumanitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016International housing organization partnering with ECLOF Dominican Republic to develop the 'Mejora Facil' housing microfinance product combining loans with technical advice for home improvements.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Grameen Bank: Grameen Bank pioneered the group-lending microfinance model that ECLOF also uses (solidarity groups of 5 with mutual guarantee). It serves similar micro-entrepreneur and rural populations, making it the closest conceptual and methodological peer.
• Pro Mujer: Pro Mujer provides microfinance combined with health and education services to women in Latin America — directly comparable to ECLOF's women-majority client base (68%) and integrated service delivery in countries like Bolivia, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.
• Accion: Accion partners with and invests in microfinance institutions globally, with a growing focus on digital financial inclusion for underserved entrepreneurs — overlapping with ECLOF's target segment and distribution approach.
• Opportunity International: Opportunity International provides microfinance, savings, and non-financial services (agricultural training, financial literacy) to small entrepreneurs in developing markets, with a strong faith-based orientation that parallels ECLOF's church-network roots.
• Kiva: Kiva is a crowdfunding platform that channels capital to microfinance institutions and individual borrowers in developing countries, overlapping with ECLOF in target clients and distribution to underserved entrepreneurs globally.
• Oikocredit: Oikocredit is a cooperative ethical investor that finances microfinance institutions and small enterprises in developing countries, sharing ECLOF's faith-based origin, cooperative ethos, and microfinance focus.
• BRAC: BRAC is one of the world's largest development organizations, combining microfinance with non-financial services (health, education, training) for ultra-poor clients — directly mirroring ECLOF's integrated financial-plus-capacity-building model.
• FINCA International: FINCA operates a global network of microfinance institutions serving low-income entrepreneurs across more than 20 countries, structurally similar to ECLOF's 14-country federated model with field-based loan officers and group-lending methodologies.
• VisionFund International: VisionFund is the microfinance arm of World Vision, operating across ~30 countries with a faith-based, child-focused mission. Its network model and emphasis on rural and agricultural clients are highly comparable to ECLOF's.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Habitat for Humanity is an ECLOF Dominican Republic partner on the Mejora Fácil housing microfinance product; both organizations serve low-income clients with housing solutions but Habitat operates as a much broader, global housing organization rather than a specialized MFI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/eclof_1946
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@eclof1946
• Facebookfacebook.com/ECLOFInt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eclof-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/eclof_int

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ECLOF International