Status Update - 30th November 2015

Kiva and Funda-Pró have agreed to end their partnership after more than 2 years during which time Funda-Pró fundraised more than 124,000 USD in loans on Kiva. Funda-Pró decided to suspend all of its loan programs including its higher education loan program which has been transferred over to another microfinance entity with whom Kiva is currently evaluating a potential partnership. Funda-Pró has repaid its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. Kiva's partnership with Funda-Pró is now closed. We thank Funda-Pró for the years of collaboration and wish them success in their future endeavors.

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

Partner Description:

FUNDA-PRO is a nonprofit organization considered to be one of Bolivia’s leading financial institutions focused on developing Bolivia’s rural business sector. Established in 1992, FUNDA-PRO raised enough capital to grow its offerings and geographic footprint. In the process, it became instrumental in the development of Bolivia’s microfinance sector, providing funding to many emerging MFIs.

Among the many programs that FUNDA-PRO manages, one of the most prominent is EDUCA-PRO. Established in 1996, it was created to offer loans at flexible rates and terms to students who couldn’t otherwise graduate due to financial constraints. EDUCA-PRO’s goal is to bridge the gap between Bolivia’s education sector and job market by providing students with the resources they need to gain skills and complete their degrees.

A unique lending approach

Today with Kiva’s help, EDUCA-PRO will be able to expand its outreach in remote and rural areas, supporting students in their pursuit of degrees and jobs to help their families. EDUCA-PRO will also be offering a unique “start-up” loan product that will enable recent university graduates to set up their own businesses. The goal is to incentivize entrepreneurship among young people in Bolivia.