Patria Credit’s mission is to offer specialized financial services to smallholder farmers and small businesses with limited access to traditional banking products due to geographical and social limitations. It aims to do so by supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of rural clients with accessible financial services. The objective is to enhance the positive impact that clients have on local rural communities.
Unlike similar institutions, Patria Credit concentrates on unregistered businesses operating only via a simple agricultural producer license. With nearly one-third of Romanians being unbanked, the institution provides access to financial services in remote areas thanks to its nationwide coverage. To support such efforts, it created a mobile app and an online loan application service.
Patria Credit has implemented strong client protection practices to prevent over-indebtedness by analyzing repayment capacity and enforcing parallel loan limits. The institution obtained the EU Code of Conduct certification in 2020.
To further extend its community outreach, Patria Credit is creating a Foundation in 2022. It will be in charge of developing community engagement, financing social projects and offering centralized technical assistance to clients. The Foundation has already started helping small rural producers enter supermarkets with better conditions and offers financial literacy services such as agro and business training.