Rupert Scofield

Rupert Scofield (born 1949) was the Co-Founder of FINCA International and was the organization's President and CEO since 1994.[1] Scofield passed on peacefully, surrounded by his family on November 27, 2022. He was 73.

Rupert Scofield
Born
Rupert Scofield

(1949-07-25) July 25, 1949
New York City
Alma materBrown University, University of Wisconsin-Madison[1]
Occupation(s)President and CEO of FINCA International
SpouseLorraine O'Hara[2]

Education

Scofield had two MAs in Agricultural Economics and Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University.[3]

Professional life

Scofield dodged the Vietnam War draft in 1971[4] and instead joined the Peace Corps where he assisted farmers in the highlands of Guatemala. It was during this time in his life that Scofield saw how extremely small loans could have an effect on a community.[5]

After leaving the Peace Corps, Scofield worked for the American Institute for Free Labour Development on land reform in El Salvador. Scofield noted that his time in El Salvador was dangerous due to landlords in the country disputing the expropriation of their plantations. This culminated in Scofield's boss being murdered.[5]

Scofield made his first $50 loans to farmers in Guatemala in 1971. In 1984, Scofield co-founded FINCA with John_Hatch_(development_specialist) to provide savings accounts, loans and other financial services to poor and low-income people.[6] FINCA initially focused on lending to women, with Scofield explaining "Women are more honest about repaying loans; they're also more likely to invest profits in their children."[7]

In 2017 FINCA had over 2 million clients across five continents and a loan portfolio of $1 billion.[8] Scofield commented that FINCA's work since its inception meant that "There are many people now with access to financial services that didn't have that access before."[7]

Personal life

Scofield hosted The Social Enterprise Podcast, a monthly podcast that explored the challenges of starting, building and running a social enterprise.[9]

His book, The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook: How to Start, Build and Run a Business that Improves the World (McGraw-Hill, 2011), tells the story of how FINCA was built in addition to providing guidance on building social businesses.[10]

Scofield served as the Chair Emeritus of the Partnership for Responsible Financial Inclusion, a collaborative effort by leaders from ten international organizations that promotes microfinance around the world[11]

Bibliography

2011 The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook, McGraw Hill 2020 Ronnie’s Greenhouse (ficiton) 224 pages 2021 Default to Bold: Anatomy of a Turnaround 266 pages 2021 Blood Brothers (fiction) 378 pages

References
  1. "Rupert W. Scofield: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. "Benjamin Scofield, obituary". PenBay Pilot. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. "Rupert Scofield - FINCA International". finca.org. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. "Britain's wealthiest must donate more, says American microfinance pioneer". telegraph.co.uk. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. "Nicaragua teaches a lesson in the power of micro loans". independent.co.uk. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. "Microfinance veterans face up to new technologies and new competition". theguardian.com. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. "Finca International: Chief executive Rupert Scofield talks assassination, booze and changing the world". cityam.com. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. "Interview: Rupert Scofield, founder of Finca International". bankingtech.com. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  9. "The Social Enterprise Podcast - Exploring the challenges of a social enterprise". socentpodcast.org. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  10. "The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook: How to start, build and run a business that improves the world". Alliance magazine. December 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. "Partnership for Responsible Financial Inclusion". responsiblefinancialinclusion.org. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
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