Belén Group

The Belen (Bethlehem) Village Bank is beginning its seventh loan cycle with 21 group members. The women are involved in a variety of activities: they sell sweets, clothing, meat, fruit, prepared meals, cosmetics, and work as artisans. They sell their wares from home, in the marketplace, and on foot, making door-to-door deliveries.

Julia, Nélida, Carmen, Yusly and Maritza are five of the 21 group members.

Julia is a 53-year-old widow with two children. She has a stand in the newly-opened Americas Market, where she sells alfalfa and vegetables. She will use her loan to offer a wider variety of products.

Nélida is 24 years old and lives with her partner and their daughter. Nélida and her husband sell cleaning products, which they sell in the stores of the Ayacuchan jungle towns. She buys her wares in Lima.

Carmen is 35 years old and lives with her common-law husband and their five children. She currently sells tripe from a mobile cart. She plans to use her loan to buy tables and chairs for the small restaurant she plans to open.

Yusly is 21 years old and lives with her common-law husband and their 3-year-old son. She sells haberdashery like necklaces and earrings, which she buys wholesale in the markets of Ayacucho City. She is using this loan to start anew: Yusly and her husband lost a lot of money when his household appliance store was robbed three months ago. Yusly thought about leaving FINCA, since she didn’t think she would have the money to keep making loan payments. Instead, she’s decided to stay in the group, but to start over with a small loan of 300 soles.

Maritza is single and 21 years old. She and her sister run a ceviche restaurant, which they just recently opened. She used to run a small stand, but now the restaurant has moved into a more central location. She plans to use her loan to buy television spots to promote her restaurant.

The women are requesting different loan amounts (300, 450 or 600 soles) and the group as a whole is requesting a total of 12,000 soles. They will use their loans to buy vegetables, pasta, sugar, fruits, cookies, and animals.




About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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