Microfinance in Bolivia

Hello IDS crew,

I'm not one for doing any sort of long analytical post, but I just got reprimanded from Jessi - so I'll put a few words up. Bolivia as a whole actually is considered a pretty popular success story in the world of microfinance (this came as a suprise). I've been doing some research for a small non-profit microfinance organization that seems to be lost in the world of microfinance here. They are restructuring and whanot and asked for some suggestions on how to diversify their product offerings.

I personally found the structure of the organization extremely confusing as they seem a little bit over extended, but I wanted them to focus on a poorer segment of the population as their smallest loans currently are at $300 (with some other requirements that eliminate some of the smaller entrepreneurs in the area). I wrote up this report (in Spanish, sorry) suggesting they start a solidarity group loan in addition to their individual loans (much like the Grameen model) to eliminate the risk in including these riskier customers.

The biggest challenge is getting my supervisors to take my gringo opinion seriously. I think the one I linked to is a rough draft, but if you're intrigued, take a look. Hope all is well, I'll see you in August.

JMH