Alicia Del Aguila Melendez

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Alicia Del Aguila Melendez by Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER in Peru. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 4 months, Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Recently I visited Alicia at her small hardware shop in the center of the city of Pucallpa. Alicia's shop stands amidst a row of little hardware shops on a bustling commercial street. The shop is called "Ferretería Saldaña" after her husband's last name. Nelly is mostly helped by her children and has just one employee at her shop.

Alicia has been in the hardware business for three years. She owns her locale and has her house behind the shop. Nelly works Monday through Saturday from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm with a short break for lunch. On Sundays the shop opens at 6:00 and closes at 3:00. Nelly told me that her shop has been doing pretty well. Although business is not necessarily fabulous, they do manage to sell a fair amount every day.

Alicia has been working with Kiva partner Manuela Ramos for six years. Prior to her hardware shop Nelly had a restaurant where she sold many local dishes such as ceviche, chicken soup, and a regular lunch menu. Nelly cooked at her restaurant for 24 years. Her very first loan from Manuela Ramos was used to fix up her restaurant. Alicia had some difficulties with this business. She didn't sell very much. She also had to rise every day at 4:00 am to begin cooking. She suffered from some illnesses as a result. Additionally, though she had hired someone to help her, this employee frequently did not show up to work. Eventually, Alicia's sister, who owns the hardware shop right next door to Alicia, advised her to shut down the restaurant and go into the hardware business. Alicia is much happier now that she has her shop.

Alicia is currently paying back a loan of 1000 soles (about $330) from Manuela Ramos and Kiva through her communal bank, "Mujeres Talentosas" (Talented Women). She used the loan to invest in more goods for her shop. The goods arrive in shipments from the capital city, Lima.

Alicia has five children. She introduced me to her son Manuel, who was working in the shop during my visit. Only Alicia's youngest two children (aged 16 and 24) are still dependent on her. Her 24-year-old daughter is studying management at a local university. Alicia’s husband works for a petroleum company.

In this short video clip, Alicia talks about her goals of moving forward and eventually having a larger store with all the hardware supplies that her customers could possibly want.

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