First project launched in The Rotary Foundation’s partnership with Oikocredit

The first project in the strategic partnership between The Rotary Foundation and Oikocredit has been launched in the Philippines.

The Rotary Club of Plaridel South, Bulacan, Philippines, will assist groups of people who are clients of ASKI with vocational training and strengthening their market presence by forming small cooperatives. ASKI is a microfinance institution in the Philippines with more than 100,000 clients, most of them women.

The project aims to build the capacity of women and out-of-school youth by providing education on savings and the importance of insurance, while providing business-specific training including:

• Food processing, to assist members in opening a small canteen
• Agricultural training for farmers to take care of livestock
• Mat production and sales

Approximately 160 people from five communities in the Philippines are expected to participate in the joint project, which is funded by a Rotary Foundation packaged grant.

Through the partnership between The Rotary Foundation and Oikocredit, Rotarians collaborate with microfinance institutions in their own communities to develop and carry out targeted training programs that increase the impact of microcredit lending. The partnership offers Rotarians service opportunities in Rotary’s economic and community development area of focus.

Learn more about Rotary grants.