SITAWI Social Loan Fund
Grant
Non-profit organization that provides financial solutions for the Brazilian social sector
SITAWI Finance for Good is a non-profit organization that develops financial solutions for the Brazilian social sector. Our goal is to multiply the capital available and with that, the number of people impacted by social organizations, supporting expansion and improvement projects in several areas: income, environment, health, culture and civil rights.
Brazil is in the headlines for its economic growth, but it's still one of the ten most unequal countries on earth: only 17% of the rural population has basic sanitation, 26 million people (1 in 7) live below the poverty line, and thousands of species become extinct every year. Social enterprises fight these problems, but even if they have a good project, they lack access to capital. Traditional banks offer loans with interest rates of up to 50%, while foundation grants are small and restricted.
Summary
SITAWI believes that more resources—in volume and varieties of capital—and greater efficiency will help social organizations to achieve greater sustainability and impact, transforming more lives.
Brazil is the 7th most unequal country in the world, but the role of the social sector in combating income distribution is limited, because in practice it only has one financial instrument: donations.
While the Brazilian stock and credit markets are valued at R$2 trillion (US$1 trillion), donations to NGOs are less than R$10 billion (US$5 billion). This might sound significant, but with nearly 300,000 NGOs in the country, it represents less than US$16,000 per organization per year.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the social impact of these NGOs is, in many cases, marginal. This is why we need to strengthen the third sector in its efforts against social inequalities.
Social Loans
Many social organizations experience difficulties in funding their initiatives. The traditional banking sector does not provide suitable funding for the social sector, making project improvements or expansions impracticable.
SITAWI created its pioneering social loan as an innovative funding mechanism to allow capital to be sustainably directed to the social sector with renewable resources. The aim of the social loan is to expand and improve social organizations’ projects and thus increase the number of people profiting from them.
Advantages of the SITAWI Social Loan
- Appropriate and affordable interest rates
- More flexible loan methodology
- Strategic advice
- Opportunity for greater social impact
Organizations looking to expand their initiatives benefit with:
- Clear and recognized social impact
- Ability to repay the loan (ideally with two years of sustainable operations)
- Ethical commitment from organization leaders
- Team with management capacity
In just 3 years, U$1 million has been lent to 12 organizations working in the fields of income generation, health, social assistance and civil rights, benefitting thousands of people.
Impact Example: Solidarium
Solidarium, the social business of Aliança Empreendedora, supplies socially responsible products to large retailers such as Walmart, Tok&Stok and Renner, providing a market for artisans from low-income communities, who would not be able to design, produce and sell products on their own.
The problem: Solidarium received an order from Walmart for 30,000 plastic bags made of recycled PET, but had insufficient resources to buy the necessary materials, pay suppliers or purchase new equipment.
The solution: SITAWI social loan for R$100,000 enabled Solidarium to fulfill the order and contributed to increasing incomes for 120 workers
Social Impact: Solidarium met its commitment to Walmart, its largest client, began production and sales on a larger scale, and increased its social impact, directly benefitting 120 micro-entrepreneurs.
The funds were repaid, allowing SITAWI to continue changing more lives like Dona Diva's.
“With the increased sales, we had a very different Christmas!” - Dona Diva
