Author Archive
Stretching a buck in Monrovia
by Carlos Cruz Montaño KF14, Liberia
Are you hungry and you have only one dollar for a snack? With an exchange rate around 72 Liberian Dollars (LRD) per US dollar, a buck will give you a chance to try several snacks that sell for 10LRD or less…
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Unusual Roles of a Kiva Fellowship
What do a woman, a priest, a diamond trader have in common with microfinance?
As a Kiva Fellow one has many roles like trainer, guest speaker, advisor and others but I never expected someone to think of me as a woman, a priest or a diamond trader… how did it happened?
Meeting a Microfinance Group in Monrovia
Knowing and Understanding, Saber y Entender
by Carlos Cruz Montano KF14
One of my local friends came to me one day… “Mr. Montano I need to talk to you”. Later that day he told me he had to send money to his mother and had other expenses but payday which was still a few days away. We agreed on the terms, half with the current month’s pay and the other half with the following month’s pay; both at the end of the month since that’s when he receives his pay. No big deal, I thought.The first paydate came and went – no payment. He had an explanation and reasoning of how we had agreed for him to pay on the 14th of the month – to his credit he did pay back the first half on that day but this simple incident finally made me understand what three directors at different microfinance institutions (MFIs) had been telling me in one way or another, sometimes borrowers simply do not understand the terms of the loan.
Uno de mis amigos llegó un día muy sonriente y me dijo Señor Montano, necesito hablar con usted. Un rato después me explicó que tenía una pequeña emergencia y debía mandar un poco de dinero a su mamá pero todavía faltaban varios días para el fin de mes (que es cuando recibe su sueldo mensual). Después de platicar llegamos a un acuerdo, yo le iba a prestar el dinero; el haría dos pagos en el último día del mes, es cuando recibe su salario. Pasó el último día del mes como si nada, cuando lo volví a ver le pregunte que había pasado. El me salió con una historia que el había acordado pagarme a mitad de mes. Al final si me pagó pero este pequeño incidente finalmente me hizo enteder lo que tres directores de instituciones de microfinanzas (IMFs) me habian comentado: a veces los clientes simplemente no entienden los términos del contrato.
$3,000 Rent Anyone? Renta de 3,000 dólares? No, Gracias!
by Carlos Cruz Montaño, KF14, Liberia
Upon arriving to Liberia I started looking for a place to live, was just looking for a furnished apartment with nothing out of the ordinary… walked into a new building that was almost finished. The apartments included things like power 24/7, water, water heaters, bedroom set, TV, and a kitchen with gas stove, fridge and some cabinets… nothing out of the ordinary, right? Then I asked about the rent… how much? Three thousand dollars???
Despues de llegar a Liberia me dediqué a buscar un departamento, algo simple y sin lujos. Entré a un edificio que estaban renovando, los departamento tenían todo nuevo e incluían lo básico, electricidad, agua, calentador de agua, cama, closet, y la cocina tenia una estufa de gas, refrigerador y algunos gabinetes. Al parecer nada fuera de lo común… y la renta al mes es cuanto? Tres mil dólares???
Bus rides and long walks
By Carlos Cruz Montaño, KF12, ParaguayWant to know what is it like to work with a loan officer? Come on… join the ride for a day!
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(more…)The cost of doing good (El costo de hacer el bien)
by Carlos Cruz Montaño
One of my favorite business talks is from Yvon Chouinard, the founder/owner of Patagonia, an outdoor clothing manufacturer. Patagonia has been very successful at innovating in the apparel industry but they did it by finding the way to do the right thing at all levels of their business.
As I work with Fundación Paraguaya, travel to branch offices, attend meetings and events one quote comes to mind from this talk: “leading and examined life where you have to question everything you do is a real pain in the ass, let me tell you”. In Patagonia’s case is about causing the least harm to the environment, in microfinance it’s about alleviating poverty and proving that you’re being successful at it.
Una de mis pláticas de negocios favoritas es de Yvon Chouinard, el fundador/dueño de Patagonia, una marca de ropa deportiva/para actividades al aire libre. Patagonia es una compañía inovadora y con mucho éxito en su industria pero lo han logrado mediante una búsqueda contínua por hacer lo correcto en todos los niveles del negocio.
En mi trabajo con la Fundación Paraguaya, recorriendo oficinas, asistiendo a juntas de trabajo y otros eventos una frase de esta plática me viene a la mente: “llevar una vida responsable en la que tienes que cuestionar todo lo que haces es un dolor de cabeza” (o como diríamos en México, es una verdadera chinga). En el caso de Patagonia se trata de hacer el menor daño posible al medio ambiente, en las microfinanzas en cambio, es acerca de disminuir la pobreza y probar que se está haciendo con éxito.
Behind the Scenes: Kiva in South America
by Carlos Cruz Montaño
Within the Americas Region, spanning from Chile in South America passing through the Caribbean and all the way to the United States, Kiva currently has 39 partner MFIs in 15 countries and about one third of all Kiva loans funded so far. Last Tuesday the Kiva Summit of the Americas took place, the Kiva team in charge of managing all these partnerships met with a group of representatives from some of these institutions for the third time in Montevideo, Uruguay. As a Kiva Fellow, this was a great opportunity to participate in the discussion of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead on Kiva’s path. The topics that stirred the most discussion were…
KIVA EN SUDAMERICA
Dentro del continente americano, desde Chile en Sudamérica pasando por el Caribe hasta Estados Unidos, Kiva trabaja con 39 instituciones de microfinanzas (IMFs) en 15 paises, además esta area ha recibido la tercera parte de todos los créditos financiados en la historia de Kiva. El martes pasado se llevó a cabo la Cumbre de las Americas; el equipo de Kiva para esta región se reunió con representantes de varios socios por tercera vez en Montevideo, Uruguay. Como Kiva Fellow esta fue una gran oportunidad para participar en la discusión de los retos y oportunidades a los que Kiva se enfrenta. Los temas que tuvieron mas discusión fueron…
Ikatú… Si se puede! Yes We Can!
Fundación Paraguaya (FP) ha sido socio de Kiva desde mediados del 2007 y ahora recauda alrededor de 200,000 dólares por mes en prestamos. Además de las microfinanzas, la Fundación tiene otras actividades y programas, uno de ellos es Ikatú que se enfoca en disminuir la pobreza. Este sábado pasado fue un dia especial ya que por primera vez se realizó un evento para reunir a los cuatro grupos de mujeres que participan en este programa con el objetivo de compartir experiencias y conocimientos, ampliar las redes de contactos y motivarse unas a otras. El evento fue un éxito y un paso adelante en un camino largo hacia su meta.
Fundación Paraguaya has been a Kiva Partner since mid 2007, and is now raising around $200,000 in loans from Kiva every month. In addition to microfinance, FP has many activities and programs; Ikatú is one of those other programs and focuses on alleviating poverty. Last Saturday was a very special day, for the first time, the four groups of women participating in Ikatú got together to share knowledge and good practices, grow their network and motivate each other. The event was a success and a step forward on a long road to achieve its goal.
Ignorance is bliss?
By Carlos Cruz Montaño, KF10 Guatemala
Have you read cartoons before understanding what they really meant? Ignorance is bliss from Calvin & Hobbes is definitely one of those cartoons for me. I worked as a design engineer before and in many occasions I thought I was asking a yes/no question but it never turned out to be that simple. You have to approach problems knowing the basic principles, look carefully at the details, make decisions and learn from your mistakes. As an engineer, the product of my work was an object and I needed technical knowledge; as a Kiva Fellow, I work on a process that involves many within an organization and I need to know the surrounding issues and understand the environment they are working in.
More Signatures & Less Fingerprints
Going through borrower files I found finger prints in the signature line of many documents but didn’t think much about it until I went to the field to actually meet borrowers…
Al revisar expedientes de asociados (clientes) encontré varios documentos con huellas digitales en lugar de firmas. No le puse más atención hasta que salí de la oficina a conocer clientes…
Who really cares about Kiva loans? The difference between Kiva and MFI loans
There’s differing opinions and many comments on the default protection policy where partners will no longer be able to guarantee Kiva loans (see posts by Claude Mansell and Nicky Goh), many of you Kiva Lenders are worried this move will greatly affect your portfolio and that MFIs will not care as much about delinquency and default in Kiva loans, but I ask… are you alone?
5′-6″ (1.65m) Tall or Short?
As a kid growing up, and now at 5’-6” tall I’ve always been on the short side, among friends, classmates, teammates, you name it! As I walk around town and meet people in my new town, I noticed I’m actually a tall person around here. Never thought being a Kiva Fellow would make me tall… anyways, what is interesting is that it depends on your reference point.
