FINCA International

Rupert Scofield. Rupert Scofield is FINCA International’s President and CEO. He is an agricultural economist with 30 years of experience in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, Eurasia, and the Greater Middle East. Mr. Scofield co-founded FINCA in 1984 with John Hatch and has served as its President and CEO since 1994. Under his leadership, FINCA has grown from 60,000 clients and… See full bio.

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Story: This is the story of Norah Musoke, who supports 18 dependents and employs 30 people as a maize miller: At 58, Norah Musoke is considered a senior citizen in Uganda, where the average life expectancy is just 53. She has experienced enough tragedy and hardship for several generations of women, but—thanks to her extraordinary spirit and determination and with the help of FINCA loans—she has been overcome her past and today supports 18 dependants, employs over 30 people, and is a pillar of her community. After Norah’s husband left her with their six children to marry another woman, he sold their home in Byeyogere and all the land the family had raised its food, leaving Norah and the children destitute. At first, Norah used her sewing skills to start a tailoring business but was unable to make enough money to support her family. When Norah told a friend about her situation, the friend assured her that FINCA would be happy to take her on as a client despite all her problems, as long as she had a good business. Norah started a new business milling maize into flour for porridge and other foods and making feed for farm animals from the husks. She joined the FINCA Byeyogere Women’s Group and took out a FINCA loan of 150,000 Ugandan Shillings ( US$75) to help her buy larger quantities of maize from local farmers at better prices. Her first loan was the catalyst that ignited her maize mill’s steady success and expanding profitability. Over the years, Norah has endured tremendous heartache, losing five of her six children to HIV/AIDS. She has opened her home to her orphaned grandchildren and now is responsible for a family of 18. Fortunately, her business has grown as rapidly as her household. Norah smiles with pride as she manages her maize mill, which she finances with a FINCA loan of 3,000,000 Ugandan Shillings( US$1,500) and which employs over 30 family members and neighbors. To cap her success—and her pride— Norah has even bought back part of her family’s land that her husband had sold. (Read more stories at: http://www.finca.org/site/c.6fIGIXMFJnJ0H/b.6088699/k.9DD0/Client_Stories/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

FINCA concluded 2009 with 717,217 clients across our 21 country programs in Africa, Eurasia, the Greater Middle East and Latin America. Our loans outstanding at year-end totaled $322.3 million. Loans disbursed reached $682.2 million. FINCA's financial services potentially improved the lives of nearly 3.6 million children and adults struggling in poverty around the world, based on the five-person average family size of FINCA clients.

Organization Strengths Summary:

Microfinance experts believe that Finca has strong public relations and strives for sustainability while serving the poor.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

At the same time, FINCA should increase their scale, improve their internal operations to be more women-friendly, and give local operations more autonomy.
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Rupert Scofield is FINCA International’s President and CEO. He is an agricultural economist with 30 years of experience in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, Eurasia, and the Greater Middle East. Mr. Scofield co-founded FINCA in 1984 with John Hatch and has served as its President and CEO since 1994. Under his leadership, FINCA has grown from 60,000 clients and a loan portfolio of $5 million to a true global presence with over 700,000 clients across five continents and a loan portfolio of more than $300 million. Mr. Scofield has expanded FINCA's commitment to serve populations in the most need by advancing FINCA's presence in Africa and leading FINCA's entry into Eurasia and the Middle East. Mr. Scofield is a practitioner at heart and remains actively involved in the management of FINCA’s network of 21 wholly-owned subsidiaries, consistently guiding each program toward self-sufficiency.  As an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a frequent keynote speaker, Mr. Scofield seeks to inspire the next generation of microfinance leaders. Prior to FINCA, Mr. Scofield served as the CEO of Rural Development Services, a consulting firm, and as country program director of the AFL-CIO’s Labor Program in El Salvador.  He earned two Master of Arts degrees in agricultural economics and public administration from the University of Wisconsin as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, and served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. Mr. Scofield is fluent in English and Spanish.

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