Dear Friends,

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is changing the world in which we live day-by-day, hour-by-hour, almost minute-by-minute. After weeks watching in disbelief as the pandemic unfolded in communities far from our own, my colleagues and I at FINCA now see it affecting our lives and the lives of people we know and love.

As we monitor the spread of the virus, our primary concern is for our employees and our customers in the nearly four dozen countries that we touch. To help slow the spread of the disease, we’ve eliminated non-essential travel and made it easy for our employees to practice social distancing and care for their families by encouraging teams to work remotely.

Even more importantly, we’re assessing the risks faced by our clients, staff and partners in the world’s more remote corners and determining how best to respond to their needs. Ultimately, we know that they will bear the greatest burden from COVID-19.

For them, following even the most basic prevention guidelines could be difficult. The communities they live in lack basic services such as clean water, health care infrastructure and reliable energy service. They are at risk from the virus itself and are among the most financially vulnerable, with little or no resources to support them through extended economic hardship. They will need our help, and we must be ready to provide it before they even ask.

I am confident that the world will prevail against this immense challenge. If we respond appropriately, we might even emerge stronger and more united as a global community.

FINCA will continue to share information with its staff, clients and partners about safe behavior, be decisive and diligent in taking preventative measures, and work hard to support our customers where we can with solutions that fit the problems they face.

As we have further updates, we’ll post them on our website, Twitter and Facebook.

In the meantime, my colleagues and I at FINCA wish you good health and safety.

Sincerely yours,

 

 

Rupert W. Scofield
President & CEO, FINCA International