Empowering Ecuadorian farmers against Poverty

The rural communities in Ecuador have, for many generations, depended on the cultivation and export of crops like bananas, cocoa and coffee for their livelihood. In the past two decades, increased competition from subsidized farming in developed nations, as well as environmental degradation due to oil exploration and the extensive use of pesticides in large-scale commercial cropping, have eroded away the incomes of Ecuadorian farmers. This has aggravated the problem of rural poverty, especially amongst Ecuador’s most disadvantaged indigenous communities.

Moved by the plight of his people in the rural village of Chibuleo, José Santos Chango established a micro-financing initiative called

Cooperativa Ambato to lend small amounts of money to the indigenous farmers and their families to help them start up small businesses to earn a living. His vision was to fight poverty through the empowerment of those left behind in the country’s pursuit of rapid economic progress and integration into the global economy.

Promoting entrepreneurship and sound business values

Over the past five years, Cooperativa Ambato has grown to serve around 20,000 of the poorest from Ecuador’s rural and urban slum areas. By scaling up his idea to create the Central Ecuadorian Credit Union Association, José is now able to extend a helping hand to the indigenous, white and “mestizos” (the mixed descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous Indians) communities alike in two central Ecuadorian provinces.

Through its micro-credit scheme, Cooperativa Ambato promotes entrepreneurship amongst rural farmers and also supports the rise of micro traders and informal city slum businessmen and businesswomen. The organization also advocates sound business values like honesty, professionalism, transparency, innovation and teamwork. Leading by example, José chose to employ more than 50 indigenous people, who would otherwise struggle to find employment in Ecuador's racist labor market, to run the enterprise. The decision paid off as Cooperativa Ambato became one of few institutions in Ecuador to achieve the ISO 9001:2000 certification for Quality Management.

Growing the micro-financing scheme

Through the leadership and vision of José Santos Chango, a small initiative to help the indigenous farmers of a village in Chibuleo has developed into an enterprise responsible for breaking the poverty cycle and uplifting some of the poorest Ecuadorian communities. By extending micro-financing to more provinces in the coming years, José will continue to play a key role in the human development and social progress of his nation.

- A Developed World