Independientes Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to INDEPENDIENTES Group, consisting of MARISOL, CONCEPCION, ROXANA, FABIOLA ROSSY, ISABEL, JUSTO GUIDO, ELIZABETH DEL CARMEN, JOSEFA, MARIA ELENA, MARILIN, MAGALY, TERESA, BETTO ORLANDO by Fundación Agrocapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA in Bolivia. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 5 months of this loan, Fundación Agrocapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Today, I attended an Independiente group meeting in one of the member’s small Internet café. I showed the women their Kiva page, and they were interested to read their description! Then, I spoke to each one of them about the impact of their loan.

Teresa has three jobs: she helps out her sister with her restaurant attached to her home three times a week, and she goes to people’s homes to wash clothes three times a week, and she sells Yanbal cosmetics when she’s out at clients’ homes. Teresa used her loan to buy tables and chairs for her sister’s restaurant and more cosmetics to sell. Teresa told me her quality of life has improved quite a bit with the help of several loans. “Before, we used to suffer. We couldn’t pay the rent on our house.” Now, her life is a bit more comfortable with a lot less worries since her and her husband’s income is enough to pay the bills. She makes a good profit just from selling cosmetics, about 30 to 40 dollars a month. “I have a different way of living and being, thanks to the help of this loan,” she told me. Right now, she, her husband, and her two children (16,11) live in her sister’s home. In the future, she would like her children to study hard and become professionals with good job because she was not able to do so.

Concepcion has been selling Yanbal cosmetics for one and a half years, and before that she used to sell shoes. With this loan, she was able to buy more cosmetics to attract more clients. She sells a little bit more now, so she has been able to provide some more food and school materials for her two children, who are 8 and 10 years old. In the future, she’s looking forward to improving her business a little bit more.

Maria Elena has had a food store for 10 years, and she used her loan to buy more soft drinks, rice, oil, and many other items for her store. She has been taking out loans for two years, and they have helped her a lot, she tells me. Her profits are higher now, and her quality of life has improved in every aspect. She tells me that there is less stress in the home and they have been able to buy a TV, DVD player, and more clothing for the family. Right now, she is saving up money so that she can study nursing in the future.

Magaly has had a lunch restaurant for two years and sold Natura cosmetics door-to-door for four years. She used the majority of her loan to buy food, like rice, in bulk. She also bought sugar, potatoes, onions, pasta, etc. Her regular clients at the restaurant have a running tab since they eat there everyday, and they pay once a month, while she has a more constant stream of income from her Natura sales. She tells me that her restaurant business has grown, commenting, “one has to always grow more, don’t you think?” She uses the profits from her restaurant to invest in Natura products, and she saves the profits from Natura in case of an emergency.

If these entrepreneurs interested you, consider lending to more AgroCapital clients here.