Irma Felipa Ccori Mamani

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Irma Felipa Ccori Mamani by Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER in Peru. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 3 months, Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

As a Kiva Fellow living in Puno, Peru, I had the opportunity to meet with Irma Felipa Ccori Mamani and discuss her most recent loan from the Microfinance Institution (MFI), Manuela Ramos, through Kiva. Irma is a member of the community bank, “El 24 de Junio” (“June 24th”) and has been taking out loans with Manuela Ramos for about two years. With her most recent loan of $275, Irma purchased small animals, such as guinea pigs, sheep and chickens, which she fattens on her small plot of land and sells at the local market in Ilave, south of Puno, along the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Irma says that although she appreciates having this work, the profits are very small and the loans from Manuela Ramos do little. I asked why she continues to take out loans if they do not help her advance, and she replied that they do increase her capital a very small amount, which is helpful. Her dream is to one day own a larger farm with her husband and to be able to send her three children to the University in Puno.

Below is a short video of Irma Felipa Ccori Mamani.

A glimpse at the MFI, Maneula Ramos: Manuela Ramos is an organization that was founded in Peru in 1978 and is dedicated to the implementation of programs and projects that advance the rights of Peruvian women. They have more than ten offices throughout Peru and seven of those are operating with a microfinance program. Their programs include educating women, primarily in the rural areas of Peru, about gender equality, domestic violence, women’s rights and environmental awareness. Twelve years ago, Manuela adopted a Microfinance program, CrediMujer, that assists groups of 15-30 women in coming together, forming a community bank and taking out a loan together that they use for their individual businesses; this is where Kiva comes in, providing interest free capital for Manuela Ramos to loan. These community banks allow women to work together in idea building and sharing, create accountability to repay the loan (if one women defaults then the entire community bank defaults and no woman in this bank may take out another loan) and enable the organization to work more efficiently (the loan officers make visits to the community bank meetings rather than each individuals place of business).