The agricultural sector has dominated El Salvador’s economy in the past, but recently the industrial and service sectors have taken over and now make up a greater percentage of the workforce (around 58%). Due to the Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s, violence is still prevalent in this country and with the economy heavily dependent on the United States, El Salvador has seen low periods of economic growth. There are very few remaining indigenous groups in the country; in fact they only make up 0.23% of the population now. Women have also faced many challenges and are the hardest hit by job losses due to the pandemic. This situation proves why it is even more important to provide women with the opportunities to escape poverty.
OUR PARTNERS IN EL SALVADOR
ASEI
Partner Since 2011
ASEI’s mission is to provide credit to micro-enterprises in an effort to provide the highest quality services. Established as an NGO in 1992, ASEI is dedicated to following the Grameen Bank model invented by Muhammad Yunus. ASEI was first supported by Catholic Relief Services in 1993 but has since received support from USAID, ACOVI, KATALYSI, and ALPIMED.
ASEI currently has four regional offices located in San Salvador, Cojutepeque, San Miguel, and Santa Ana and has more than a thousand community banks in the country. The NGO is governed by a general assembly of 12 members who meet annually and democratically name the Board of Directors.
PADECOMSM
Partner Since 2008
PADECOMSM was created in 1986 by an organized group of rural associations in Perquín during the Salvadorian Civil War with an aim to improve public education and community development. For over 20 years in the region of Morazán (located in northern El Salvador), PADECOMSM has had a strong presence and provided invaluable training, technical assistance and microfinance services to the rural poor living in the area. PADECOMSM continues to service small, rural and poor communities focused on coffee cultivation while simultaneously serving urban communities focused on commerce, small enterprise and industry.