SITAWI is committed to protecting the environment and changing the lives of the most vulnerable people in Brazil. Whether it's creating wickerwork and income for artisans, computer skills for at-risk kids, teaching business courses for Afro-Brazilian micro-entrepreneurs or supporting sustainable recycling projects, we help bring long-lasting change to Brazil.For every $1 donated, our nonprofit fund will lend $10 to ethical, high-quality social enterprises, multiplying the impact of your donation
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 are 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% and foundation grants are small and restricted
We screen ethical, high-social-impact organizations with a business engine, and provide loans at low interest rates. A partner fulfilled an order of recycled bags, creating work for 300 artisans.Another, kept a community canteen for 3150 people afloat when government delayed payment.At Sitawi, once a loan is repaid, we lend to another organization, multiplying the social impact of donations.Since 2009, we have multiplied the impact of our capital 3x, reached 11,000 people and suffered no default
Beyond SITAWI, we will push banks to change their view of what is needed to lend to social enterprises (just as what happened in microcredit). If we are successful, social enterprises
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
