Last updated March 25, 2013

Partner Description:

Pro Mujer Bolivia is the flagship program of global nonprofit Pro Mujer and the foundational model for all of its countries’ programs. For 20 years, the dedicated staff of Pro Mujer Bolivia has been providing poor women with financial and non-financial services to help them improve their lives.

Not only does Pro Mujer Bolivia offer loan capital for women’s small-scale businesses and opportunities to save through the communal bank structure, it also provides business training and health and personal development services. This holistic approach enables clients to create opportunities for themselves and their families.

Pro Mujer’s Business Development Center has educated more than 20,000 clients on the principles of managing small businesses. The curriculum consists of several training modules and suggested action plans for business startups. The center also provides customized assistance to clients who are already business owners to help them grow.

Pro Mujer’s health and personal development services have provided information on sexual and reproductive health to more than 10,000 clients. These services also include basic primary care, as well as gynecological exams, tests for STIs and early cancer detection. On top of this, medical care also extends to the children of clients. As of 2009, over 5,000 children were treated for respiratory infections and diarrhea, and more than 7,000 children received vital vaccinations through Pro Mujer.

As of 2010, Pro Mujer operates in all nine of Bolivia’s regions -- called departments -- with offices in La Paz, Cobija, El Alto, Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarija, Santa Cruz, Potosí, Oruro, Trinidad and Riberalta. Currently, all Kiva operations are based out of the El Alto regional office.

Want to get more involved with Pro Mujer Bolivia through Kiva? Consider joining the Friends of Pro Mujer Bolivia lending team.

Pro Mujer Bolivia’s unique lending approach:

Pro Mujer’s women clients bring diverse skills and strong convictions to provide for their families, but very few are able to access formal financial services. For these women, credit alone does not serve their needs. Pro Mujer provides an alternative delivery system for its credit services through group-oriented communal banks. This appeals to women who are accustomed to working in community groups.

For its efforts, Pro Mujer Bolivia has received a number of awards and honors. See the full list here.

Status Update - September 11, 2011

As part of an ongoing effort to fully migrate risk ratings to our new and enhanced risk rating system, Kiva has conducted a re-assessment of the level of risk posed by this institution.

The information gathered during this process, together with Kiva's new risk rating system and half-star support, has led us to revise Pro Mujer Bolivia's risk rating from 5 to 4 stars.