Elgiba Rios Pezo De Romero

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Elgiba Rios Pezo de Romero by Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER in Peru. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 5 months of this loan, Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Elgiba and I spoke about her business activities this morning on the front porch of her home in a neighborhood near the center of Pucallpa. Elgiba has worked in two different business ventures for some time now: in addition to selling a variety of cold drinks, she also works with her son-in-law in the timber business. Elgiba is currently paying back two loans, each of 3000 soles (about $1000). One of these loans is from Manuela Ramos, through her communal bank "Bellavista"; the other comes directly from the savings of the members of "Bellavista". Apart from a small sum of around $100 for her beverage business, Elgiba invested all of this money in timber with her son-in-law. Elgiba's son-in-law uses the funds to bring wood from surrounding areas to sell to sawmills in Pucallpa. Elgiba feels fortunate to be working with her son-in-law in timber as the sale of drinks has gone down a lot recently. Previously Elgiba could sell four cases of soda per day; now she can barely sell one.

Elgiba has been working with Manuela Ramos for more than 10 years and is one of the few "founders" of her communal bank who is also still a member. Elgiba told me that her loans have helped her out a lot. She enjoys investing and is pleased to have her own business and take care of her own finances apart from her husband and his income. Although Elgiba has had the opportunity to join other small banks in the area, she has chosen to stay with Manuela Ramos. When Elgiba's communal bank first came together, some of the members were not able to make their loan payments and Elgiba ended up losing 550 soles (about $180) in savings. Currently, Elgiba is proud to have 1770 soles (about $590) in savings with Manuela Ramos, which she has not touched. She is careful to always make her loan payments on time in order not to disturb this amount.

Elgiba lives with her husband and her youngest daughter. Her other 5 children have all moved out on their own. In this short video clip, Elgiba talks about her goal of getting ahead and earning more from her business. To view a list of currently fundraising loans from Elgiba's MFI, Manuela Ramos, click Here.