Waldo Arce Gutierrez

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Waldo Arce Gutierrez by Emprender in Bolivia. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 7 months, Emprender will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

As a Kiva Fellow working with Kiva’s local partner MFI in Bolivia, Emprender, I recently had the opportunity to visit with Lucy, the wife of Waldo, a Kiva funded entrepreneur.

Eight years ago, Waldo used to work as a salesman for Suzuki, but decided to go into business for himself as he saw that in his neighborhood of Pampahasi there was a lack of security guards. Here in Bolivia, most large parties, events or conferences hire their own private security guard to watch the door and sometimes the bathroom. It is common for families to require the same security during weddings and birthday parties. Waldo and Lucy have several trusted employees, primarily extended family, who act as these guards. They manage the requests of their clients, and provide the uniforms and clubs used by the guards. Also, each of their security guards is given an ID card to present to the clients so they can be confident that the security guards are legitimate and trustworthy. In February of every year they buy new uniforms, and used their most recent Kiva funded loan for this purpose.

Right now, Waldo is in Argentina working as a security guard where he can earn double the salary that is paid in Bolivia. This leaves Lucy and Waldo’s brother to manage the business and take care of their two children. Lucy very much misses her husband, and feels that this year away, while important, changes their family. Her oldest daughter, 7 years old, misses her father greatly and Lucy doesn’t know what she can do to fill that void. Though it is difficult, the whole family looks forward to weekly phone conversations.

I really enjoyed meeting Lucy, and want to thank you for supporting her and her family! She was uncomfortable having her photo taken, but here you can see a picture of Emprender's staff in La Paz.

To read more about the adventures of Kiva Fellows in Bolivia check out our blog: link text

Also, check out Emprender’s website: : link text