Our work is guided by our credit committee from indigenous tribes of Latin America and South East Asia to ensure the alignment of the fund to the interest of indigenous communities. 

CREDIT COMMITTEE

MARGARITA CHOJOLÁN QUIXTÁN 

As an independent consultant based in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Margarita Chojolán Quixtán has dedicated her professional career to supporting indigenous organizations throughout Central America. She specializes in building and advising lending programs that focus on small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Latin America. Margarita received a master’s degree in finance and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala. Currently, Margarita trains new entrepreneurs throughout Central America while also working as a gender and self-esteem facilitator for UNICEF in Guatemala. She also acts as a rural entrepreneurship facilitator for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture. For the past 4 years, she has worked at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Guatemala as a technical, financial development, and microfinance advisor. In the past she has worked for Porvenir Financiero (PORFIN) , a project launched by Root Capital in collaboration with EARTH University to support agricultural companies.
MARIE NGODDO
Marie is a Program Officer at The Center for People and Forests, an international NGO based in Bangkok focused on capacity building for community forestry in Asia.  She previously worked for Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education)  as a coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF) for Asia and the Pacific.  Marie is a member of the Kankana-ey, an indigenous group from the Mountain Provinces of northern Philippines.  She holds an MA in Social and Development Studies from the University of the Philippines and an MA in Lifelong Learning from Aarhus Universitet.
ROMAN VIZCARRA NORIEGA
Roman has worked to preserve and share his native Andean culture for most of his life.  As a UNESCO-sponsored artist, he traveled throughout Europe, exposing audiences to Andean art forms. He owns Kawsaypaq, a tour operator offering immersive cultural experiences of Peru's Sacred Valley. He also co-owns and manages an inn, a restaurant, and a spa that showcase indigenous culture. He is  a mentor for a youth-led organic farm and a founding parent of Kusi Kawsay Andean School in Peru, which strives to develop respect of culture and ecological diversity, while honoring the wisdom and dignity of indigenous traditions, reciprocity, respect and social justice.
FRANCISCO XANTÉ LOBOS  
 
Francisco Xanté Lobos is a business administrator and proud member of the Maya K'iche indigenous peoples in Guatemala. For the past 18 years, Francisco has worked to promote small businesses and preserve the natural environment in his native Guatemalan community. Francisco is the Executive Director of Association Tikonel in San Martín Jilotepeque in the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala. Through his work, Francisco has strived to develop successful businesses that strengthen indigenous communities.   He founded and now serves on the board of directors of Servigua Foundation, a platform that finances entrepreneurs in the Northwest region of Guatemala. He has also been the president of the board of directors of the Indigenous and Peasant Coordinating Association of Central American Community Agroforestry (ACICAFOC), a Central American network of community agroforestry enterprises facilitating processes that allow responsible access, use and management of natural resources throughout the region.
RUTH ZENAIDA BUENDÍA MESTOQUIARI  
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Ruth Zenaida Buendía Mestoquiari is an Asháninka woman and indigenous leader from the Cutivireni-Rio Ene Native Community in Satipo-Junín, Peru. In 2006, she was elected as the first female President of Central Asháninka del Rio Ene, which represents 18 indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her leadership which successfully unified indigenous opposition to large-scale dams in the Amazon. In 2014, she was named one of the 100 most influential thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine. She also received the Bartolomé de la Casas Award for her work protecting indigenous people’s rights and widely promoting indigenous values.