Juan Cruz Ponce Favela

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Juan Cruz Ponce Favela by Fundación para la Vivienda Progresiva in Mexico. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 12 - 18 months, Fundación para la Vivienda Progresiva will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Update by Brendan McBride, Kiva Fellow with FVP in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico:

I visited Mr. Ponce last week at his business, but unfortunately he was not there – but I had a chance to see his very attractive newly-planted garden in front of the business. Later that day I got the chance to speak to him by phone about the impact of the Kiva loan. I should add from the beginning that it is Mr. Ponce’s wife, Judith, who runs the business most of the time. He helps out on the side and handles the administrative aspects, which is why his name was on the Kiva loan. During the day he works at a maquila, a special free trade zone factory, assembling electronic circuit boards for automobiles. He has worked there for 13 years. (Coincidentally, I got a chance to visit one such factory today – maquilas like it employ thousands of people in Acuna)

The good news is that the Ponces have pretty much sold out of their inventory of paper goods, stationary, and other office and school supplies. Their business, he explained, is very cyclical, since his main clientele are students. The high season was the last couple weeks, with children and parents arriving to purchase their supplies for the school year that is just beginning. He will soon replenish his inventory using his profits from this round in preparation for the next wave of purchases.

The business used the Kiva loan to purchase a used copying machine. He said that the profits from the copier have helped them to earn more from their business, and that it was a needed service in a neighborhood that did not have a copying machine nearby.

On behalf of himself and his wife, Mr. Ponce sends thanks to Kiva lenders for supporting their business.

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