IMPRO is a small non-profit organization that has been offering micro credit to the working poor in the cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia since 1995. IMPRO’s goal is to fight poverty by offering loans to small business owners who otherwise would not be able to access credit through the regular banking system due to a lack of guarantees or collateral.

IMPRO’s programs have a social impact on the lives of its clients, many of whom live below the national poverty line. IMPRO has three main credit programs: "Housing and Improvement of Living Conditions", "Productive Loans" and "Rural Loans".

The Housing and Improvement of Living Conditions program provides loans for construction and home repairs including, but not limited to, water, sewage and electricity installations. The loan officer in charge of the program is also a trained architect who provides consultation to his clients. Today, this program makes up more than 50% of IMPRO’s total loan portfolio.

The Productive Loan program offers a variety of credit products including microenterprise, agriculture, education and health products. These loans provide clients opportunities to expand their businesses, pay for school tuition and materials, and cover unexpected health expenses. The Rural Loan program is dedicated to offer micro loans in the rural area near the cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia. These clients use the loans for their businesses in agriculture and milk production. In 2007 IMPRO signed an agreement with the Milk Producers Federation in La Paz in order to improve their milk producing cattle. With the loans of IMPRO the farmers buy better dairy cows that produce more milk. The agreement serves as collateral for the farmers.

To ensure that everyone has access to credit, IMPRO maintains a low interest rate by minimizing operational costs. IMPRO also has a very low default rate because its loan officers and collection officers do an excellent job in the selection of clients and collection of repayments. IMPRO’s partnership with Kiva, which began in 2007, has allowed IMPRO to expand its services while maintaining these low interest rates.

The majority of IMPRO’s loan officers, many of whom work with Kiva clients, have been working with the organization for over 10 years. These loan officers, along with the rest of the dedicated staff of IMPRO, ensure that IMPRO’s clients receive the highest quality of customer service.

To learn more about IMPRO, you can go to IMPRO’s website. You can also join IMPRO’s lending team to further support IMPRO’s entrepreneurs.

IMPRO can be contacted via e-mail at mjimenez@improbolivia.org.