Asociación Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de la Unión de R.L.

A cooperative supporting small and medium enterprises

El Salvador

The financial cooperative Asociación Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de La Unión de R.L. (ACACU) was founded in 1961 by American priests in the city of La Union, El Salvador, under a training programme for Latin American cooperatives, funded by USAID. In 1968 the institution was legally constituted as a cooperative. ACACU has been an Oikocredit partner since 2018.

ACACU has a network of agencies in the eastern and central parts of El Salvador and its head office is located in the department of La Union. Its main product has always been consumption loans, but the cooperative now increasingly caters to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Today, ACACU has more than 27,000 members (2018). It is part of the national cooperative federation FEDECACES, composed of 20 Salvadoran cooperatives which offer easy access to ethical financial and non-financial services. ACACU is the federation's biggest member in terms of portfolio and asset size.