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

Status Update - September 14, 2022

Kiva is happy to announce that microfinance activities have mostly improved in Bolivia, moratoriums have ended and most of Kiva’s partners in the country are in the process of normalizing their portfolios. IMPRO has also started to collect from their clients and will start posting loans again on Kiva.

Status Update - April 19, 2021:

The Bolivian government has implemented loan payment moratoriums since the beginning of the pandemic. Those moratoriums have been extended twice and are currently set to expire in June of this year. However, they may be extended again. The result of these moratoriums is that our Lending Partners in Bolivia have received only limited repayments from their clients. For this reason, it is likely that your repayments for loans from our Lending Partners in Bolivia will continue to be delayed.

June 9, 2020 - COVID-19 Update:

Kiva has been in contact with IMPRO 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. Bolivia has imposed temporary moratoriums on loan payments, affecting not only microfinance, but the economy as a whole. 

As a result, borrowers and IMPRO 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 IMPRO. As an impact-first funder, Kiva is committed to serving our Lending Partners, as in past crises. We are sympathetic to temporary increases in repayment delays and delinquency in order to help Lending Partners and borrower communities recover. 

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

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

Status Update - December 2019

Protests have been on-going in Bolivia due to the contested elections on October 20th. There have been street demonstration and road blockages across much of the country. Unfortunately, the protests and other demonstratoins have resulted in the loss of life and impacted the economy of Bolivia. However, some stability has returned to the country and new elections have been announced for early 2020. We have been in contact with our partners and are currently monitoring the situation closely as Kiva borrowers and partner staff have been affected by the unrest. This might result in an increase in delinquency rates since a lot of informal economic activities have been impacted. As more information comes in, we will update lenders accordingly.

Partner Description:

IMPRO is a small nonprofit organization that has been offering microcredit to the working poor in the cities of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia since 1995. IMPRO’s goal is to fight poverty by offering loans to small business owners who otherwise would not be able to access credit through the regular banking system due to a lack of guarantees or collateral.

Many of IMPRO’s clients live below the national poverty line, so receiving a loan has a huge social impact in their communities. The three main credit programs IMPRO offers include: "Housing and Improvement of Living Conditions," "Productive Loans" and "Rural Loans."

The Housing and Improvement of Living Conditions program provides loans for construction and home repairs, including, but not limited to, water, sewage and electricity installations. The loan officer in charge of the program is also a trained architect who provides consultation to his clients. Today, this program makes up more than 50% of IMPRO’s total loan portfolio.

The Productive Loan program offers a variety of credit products, including microenterprise, agriculture, education and health products. These loans provide clients opportunities to expand their businesses, pay for school tuition and materials, and cover unexpected health expenses.

The Rural Loan program offers microloans in the rural areas near the cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia. Many of the loan recipients work in agriculture and milk production, so in 2007, IMPRO signed an agreement with the Milk Producers Federation in La Paz to offer further benefits to their loan recipients. Between these benefits and loans from IMPRO, farmers are able buy high quality dairy cows that produce more milk. Going forward, cows serve as collateral for borrowers to help them access more credit.

IMPRO's unique lending approach:

To ensure that everyone has access to credit, IMPRO maintains a low interest rate by minimizing operational costs. IMPRO also has a very low default rate because its loan officers and collection officers do an excellent job in the selection of clients and collection of repayments. IMPRO’s partnership with Kiva, which began in 2007, has allowed IMPRO to expand its services while maintaining these low interest rates.

The majority of IMPRO’s loan officers, many of whom work with Kiva clients, have been working with the organization for over 10 years. These loan officers, along with the rest of the dedicated staff of IMPRO, ensure that IMPRO’s clients receive the highest quality of customer service.

To further support IMPRO’s entrepreneurs you can join IMPRO’s lending team.

IMPRO can be contacted via e-mail at mjimenez@improbolivia.org.