Edgar Alejandro Saavedra González

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Edgar Alejandro Saavedra González by CEPRODEL in Nicaragua. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 14 months of this loan, CEPRODEL will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Edgar was not at home when I went to visit his metal recycling business, so I spoke with his father Eduardo Antonio Saavedra. Edgar, he said, was out in a truck collecting materials to be recycled. Edgar’s business is collecting scrap metal, mainly copper and bronze, which he later sells to a company that exports the metals to a recycling plant in another country. In the past, Edgar’s business was so small that he had to sell his metal to a middleman who then sold it to the larger company who exported it. Thanks to the loans from CEPRODEL, said Eduardo, we are now big enough to sell straight to the exporter most of the time. And of course, he said, in the future his goal is to be able to export themselves, but that is a long way off. We already have the knowledge and experience, said Eduardo, but it will take time to get that big. The loan was used to buy scrap metal to help expand the business. The business has been open about 7 years.

The business is located in the family home. Visually, the business consists of several scales for weighing metal and then lots of bags full scrap metal. There are 8 family members including Edgar’s two young children, ages 5 and 8, who are both in school. The family also supports two employees who help with the business. The other positive impact of the loan that Eduardo mentioned was that the whole family is able to eat a little bit better now. The photo is of Eduardo standing with the bags of scrap metal that are the major component of the business.

Learn more about CEPRODEL: http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=74

Founded in 1991, the Centro de Promoción del Desarrollo Local (CEPRODEL) is a nonprofit organization (NGO) based in Managua that provides socioeconomic development programs in rural and urban communities throughout western Nicaragua. More than 75% of Kiva’s CEPRODEL loans are to women. In addition to loans, CEPRODEL promotes sustainable, community development with many other programs including clean energy projects and housing cooperatives. Want to do more?

Join the Fans of CEPRODEL Lending Team: http://www.kiva.org/team/ceprodel_nicaragua

Loan to a CEPRODEL entrepreneur who is currently fundraising on Kiva: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=74&status=fundRaising&sortBy=Old+to+New

Check out the Kiva Fellows Blog to learn more about CEPRODEL and the experience Kiva Fellows have had in Nicaragua: http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/category/kiva-field-partners/ceprodel/