Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner. Partner description: Based in Chiapas and founded in 2011, Avanza Sólido is a relatively young micro-finance institution. Their mission is to strengthen the economic independence of women and their families by providing financial products and wrap-around services that contribute to long-term community welfare. They provide individual and group loans, with a focus on women and rural populations. A unique lending approach: Avanza Sólido's winning formula is clear: appropriate/affordable credit + social programs = sustainable impact. In the competitive micro-finance market of Southern Mexico, Kiva funding helps Avanza Sólido to offer below market interest rates and a suite of non-financial services. These wrap-around services are grouped into 3 programatic areas: women's social and economic empowerment, health care (principally preventive and reproductive), and environment (for example, technologies/strategies to more efficiently use energy and water in businesses or households).