Established in 2006, Foundation for International Community Assistance Canada (FINCA Canada) works to empower people in poor countries, primarily women, by providing access to financial services through microfinancing. FINCA Canada is also expanding to provide social products, including solar lanterns, clean cookstoves, and water purification products. As an arm of FINCA International (FINCA), funds collected by FINCA Canada are used in implementing its microfinancing and social product programs. FINCA reports that it currently serves 2,669,933 clients across its programs.

In F2019, FINCA Canada contributed $3.2m in program supplies and support to FINCA. FINCA Canada contributes to programs in 20 countries across Africa, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East & South Asia. Pakistan has the largest number of FINCA clients, with 1,128,248 clients accessing a $144.9m loan portfolio in the country. Tanzania has the second highest number of clients, followed by DR Congo, Kyrgyzstan, and Uganda.

FINCA’s microfinancing program provides small loans for entrepreneurs, insurance, money transfers, savings accounts, and other financial services. The charity reports that there are 853,888 current FINCA borrowers, 41% of whom are female. Female Empowerment is a key aspect of FINCA’s work, and 269,344 FINCA-supported businesses are run by women (29%). Additionally, women have created 586,465 jobs with FINCA support. Most of FINCA’s borrowers use their loans to expand an existing business.

FINCA runs the BrightLife social enterprise, which is designed to provide clean energy products that improve the health of a family. It runs 8 storefronts in Uganda that employ 300 full and part-time staff. FINCA solar lanterns are 15x brighter than kerosene, and a single day’s charge can provide 36 hours of light. FINCA reports impacting 202,580 lives through the clean energy provided from BrightLife. Regarding FINCA’s specific social products, the charity notes that it is still in the early stage of identifying needs that will vary by community and country.

FINCA Canada is a Medium-sized charity with donations of $2.0m in F2019. It received $2.6m in government funding, representing 55% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 13% of revenues and fundraising costs are 25% of donations. This means overhead costs are 38%. For every dollar donated, 62 cents go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

FINCA Canada has $1.8m in funding reserves which could cover program costs for roughly seven months. This indicates a need for funding.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to FINCA Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 15, 2020 by Eric Jose.