Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Field Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

June 9, 2020 - COVID-19 Update:

Kiva has been in contact with COOPAC Norandino to understand how we can best support their business and borrowers during the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of all staff, borrowers and their families as this global pandemic continues.

While country-specific responses to the crisis vary, most governments have imposed curfews, travel restrictions, and nation-wide shutdowns. Peru has imposed temporary moratoriums on loan payments, affecting not only microfinance, but the economy as a whole. 

As a result, borrowers and COOPAC Norandino may experience difficulty making and collecting loan repayments due to the aforementioned restrictions or fallout effects of the virus. Over the coming months, it’s possible that lenders will see a delay in repayments and new loans posted by COOPAC Norandino. As an impact-first funder, Kiva is committed to serving our Field Partners, as in past crises. We are sympathetic to temporary increases in repayment delays and delinquency in order to help Field Partners and borrower communities recover. 

Kiva is working closely with COOPAC Norandino to support them and their borrowers through the COVID-19 crisis. COOPAC Norandino is sending regular updates to Kiva, and we'll update Partner Pages as we learn more. 

On behalf of Kiva and COOPAC Norandino, we’re grateful for your continued support through this difficult time. 

Partner description:

Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Norandino Ltda (COOPAC Norandino) is a rural savings and credit cooperative, established in 2005 to support smallholder, FairTrade and organic-certified small-holder farmers in the highlands of Peru who have limited financial resources and market access. While the majority of COOPAC Norandino’s portfolio is concentrated in coffee, the cooperative is also active in sugar cane, cacao, bananas and mangos. The organizations’s strategic alliances with local agriculture cooperatives allows farmers to access price premiums, agricultural trainings, and export to international markets. COOPAC Norandino’s team have strong sector knowledge, allowing them to tailor their financial services to the niche coffee market, and are often active farmers themselves.

A unique lending approach:

COOPAC Norandino provides financing for individual farmers as well as agricultural cooperatives. Loans funded on Kiva are used both to help COOPAC Norandino continue growing its organic coffee and cacao portfolio, and to fund a new low-interest loan product created for Kiva for female cooperative members or spouses to develop rural microenterprises. This new type of loan will help smooth and diversify producer household income, which in turn will smooth COOPAC Norandino's annual cash flow and lower risk exposure in their portfolio, allowing them to continue growing and supporting the entire agricultural value chain. COOPAC Norandino's other non-agricultural loan products, such as their emergency health loan, may be considered for Kiva funding in the future.