We are pleased to announce the metamorphosis from FIG into Philea. Hybrid, solidary and committed, the cooperative Philea has the goal to sustain global development and fair trade for everyone through their projects. Welcome and enjoy our new website!
Hybrid & commited
Philea is cooperative of public interest offering loans at favourable rates to its beneficiary members, thanks to its financial base offered by its contributors on one hand and to its proven reliability for investors on the other hand.
Our results in 22 years of experience
2017 key figures
Total amount : CHF 2’040’000
Africa : 3 operations for an amount of CHF240’000
Latin : 3 operations for an amount of CHF 1’800’000
18,000 total final beneficiaries
6 countries of intervention as of today
Africa (Togo, Burundi)
Latin America (Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador)
Financial commitments to beneficiary members on 31 December 2017
OUR NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
DIFO is a limited company based in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, which, since 2006 has been providing financial services for active people from rural areas left out of the traditional financial sector so as to participate in the fight against poverty.
In 2018 Philea committed CHF 85’000 to this beneficiary member.
ADISCO is an NGO founded on 2 August 2006 in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. Adisco supports the emergence and development of a national social movement capable of carrying its own development and influencing policies for the benefit of the most vulnerable layers of the population. It also proposes a support programme for integrated farms and alternative sectors.
In 2018 Philea committed CHF 40’000 to this beneficiary member.
PELILEO is a cooperative created in 2008 in Pelileo, Ecuador, which offers microfinance services.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 146’000 to this beneficiary member.
CODEPA is a cooperative founded in 1981 in Guatemala, which offers microfinance services for small producers.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 73’000 to this beneficiary member.
COOPEFACSA is a cooperative created in October 1995 in Nueva Guinea in South-Eastern Nicaragua. Its mission is to contribute to improving the quality of life of its members by providing them with financial services.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 146’175 to this beneficiary member.
PRESTANIC is a non-profit association, established in Managua in 1999, which provides financial services to small businesses and producers. It supports women in particular in order to improve their living conditions.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 340’000 to this beneficiary member.
CARUCFIN is a cooperative created in October 2008, based in Leon, Nicaragua. Located a hundred kilometres away from Managua, it offers financial solutions for the entire sector of products and services of the city of Quezalguaque and its surroundings.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 156’000 to this beneficiary member.
COOPSAFRA, Coopérative Services pour la production Saint-François d’Assises is a dairy cooperative founded in 1991 in Camoapa, a small town in the Boaco department of Nicaragua. It has 400 members and produces 50’000 litres of milk per day for quality dairy by-products.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 113’000 to this beneficiary member.
AMC is a LLC founded in San Miguel, El Salvador in 2000. It offers financial services adapted to small and medium enterprises.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 195’000 to this beneficiary member.
CONFIANZA is a cooperative created in 2011 in San Miguel, El Salvador, which offers financial services adapted to small and medium enterprises.
In 2018, Philea committed CHF 195’000 to this beneficiary member.
FECECAV is a cooperative founded in November 1997 in Kpalimé, located in the South-West of Togo, in the Plateaux region, surrounded by coffee and cocoa plantations. Its mission is to provide financial services to people in rural areas. In 2018, Philea committed CHF 118’000 to this beneficiary member.
Philea has 105 support and beneficiary members spread in Africa, Latin America, and Northern America.
Beneficiary members are very diverse by :
- their legal form : be they NGOs, associations, cooperatives or limited companies
- the activities they undertake – savings systems, credit, production and agricultural commercialisation
- their size and their level of development: small precarious structures in need of stronger technical support as well as bigger better-capitalised institutions that cover several regions and several thousand members
This diversity is a strength that encourages synergies.
In each country of intervention, local coordinators make the network live and conduct joint technical support and training activities that foster experience exchange and skills transfer amongst members.
Philea also employs its more experienced or larger members as intermediaries, in order to identify new members or even co-finance them.
In Guatemala, in 2004, Philea began a collaboration with the Federation of Cooperatives of Coffee Producers of Guatemala (FEDECOCAGUA). A first guarantee had been issued to enable the federation to finance the coffee harvesting campaign through a local bank. FEDECOCAGUA – in a context where coffee production is widely controlled by private groups – then succeeded in developing so as to become a major player in the sector in Guatemala.
The collaboration evolved, FEDECOCAGUA, thanks to its development, no longer needed the funding of Philea. On the other hand, since 2009, FEDECOCAGUA has been helping Philea to identify new members among its member cooperatives who, in turn, benefit from this funding.
Three smaller cooperatives were thus able to benefit from this through FEDECOCAGUA’s intermediation. In addition, the local correspondent accompanies these small cooperatives in order to optimise their internal procedures.
