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Carlos is 45 years old, married, and the father of two children (ages 11 and 12). He is a resident of San Jacinto, a town in the Department of Bolívar, where he is well-known for being a good citizen and a meat vendor. Carlos has a butcher shop where he sells meat by the ounce, by the pound, or by the kilo according to the needs of his customers. His experience included a traditional upbringing. Carlos learned his trade from his father and now he has his own business, which allows him to earn enough income to support his family. However, he wants to grow his business so that he can provide for the greater welfare of his children while they are still young and in school.
Carlos sells his products for cash and also on credit. He has the necessary equipment for his job such as knives, cleavers, tables, and a freezer with very good storage capacity of which he needs to make more effective use. His plans going forward are to modernize his butcher shop with special machines and to secure a well-equipped location near his home. The greatest challenge he faces is dealing with the sporadic power outages that occur whenever the town has to perform maintenance and repairs. As a result, he has to resort to the old technique of salting the meats in order to preserve them. He encourages his customers to prepare a delicious stew that includes three types of salted meat. In the meantime, Carlos works toward generating a profit margin of no less than 17% from his sales. He continually strives to improve his operating capital by securing financing.
For this reason, he has come to Fundación Mario Santo Domingo to apply for his first loan. Using the Kiva funds, Carlos will buy meat in large amounts so that he can expand his customer base and sell more products to them. This will allow him to offer discounts so that he can attract and keep his customers.
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Ronan Reodica. View original language description.
