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

On behalf of Kiva and Fundación Pro Mujer, 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: 

Given recent regulatory changes in the Bolivian microfinance industry, MFIs are now prevented from offering non-financial services to their clients. As a result, Pro Mujer Bolivia made the decision to split into two separate NGOs: Pro Mujer Bolivia Inc (which provides wraparound services) and Fundación Pro Mujer (which offers loans). Kiva's formal partnership is now with the lending entity Fundación Pro Mujer, and the name of this partnership has been updated accordingly.

Pro Mujer Bolivia is the flagship program of global nonprofit Pro Mujer and the foundational model for all of its countries’ programs. For 20 years, the dedicated staff of Pro Mujer Bolivia has been providing poor women with financial and non-financial services to help them improve their lives.

Not only does Pro Mujer Bolivia offer loan capital for women’s small-scale businesses and opportunities to save through the communal bank structure, it also provides business training and health and personal development services. This holistic approach enables clients to create opportunities for themselves and their families.

Pro Mujer’s Business Development Center has educated more than 20,000 clients on the principles of managing small businesses. The curriculum consists of several training modules and suggested action plans for business startups. The center also provides customized assistance to clients who are already business owners to help them grow.

Pro Mujer’s health and personal development services have provided information on sexual and reproductive health to more than 10,000 clients. These services also include basic primary care, as well as gynecological exams, tests for STIs and early cancer detection. On top of this, medical care also extends to the children of clients. As of 2009, over 5,000 children were treated for respiratory infections and diarrhea, and more than 7,000 children received vital vaccinations through Pro Mujer.

As of 2010, Pro Mujer operates in all nine of Bolivia’s regions -- called departments -- with offices in La Paz, Cobija, El Alto, Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarija, Santa Cruz, Potosí, Oruro, Trinidad and Riberalta. Currently, all Kiva operations are based out of the El Alto regional office.

Want to get more involved with Pro Mujer Bolivia through Kiva? Consider joining the Friends of Pro Mujer Bolivia lending team.

Fundación Pro Mujer's unique lending approach:

Pro Mujer’s women clients bring diverse skills and strong convictions to provide for their families, but very few are able to access formal financial services. For these women, credit alone does not serve their needs. Pro Mujer provides an alternative delivery system for its credit services through group-oriented communal banks. This appeals to women who are accustomed to working in community groups.

For its efforts, Pro Mujer Bolivia has received a number of awards and honors. See the full list here.

Status Update - September 11, 2011

As part of an ongoing effort to fully migrate risk ratings to our new and enhanced risk rating system, Kiva has conducted a re-assessment of the level of risk posed by this institution.

The information gathered during this process, together with Kiva's new risk rating system and half-star support, has led us to revise Fundación Pro Mujer's risk rating from 5 to 4 stars.

We have prepared a blog post with more information on Kiva's new and enhanced risk rating system, along with a chart showing the relative magnitude of the overall changes for Kiva's portfolio. Fundación Pro Mujer has been informed of our analysts’ findings and their corresponding change in rating.