A loan helped to provide 110 inmates with training, jobs and income to support their families while in prison.


Project Pietà's story

Over 70% of individuals in Peru’s prisons have children to support at home and no opportunities for earning income legally while awaiting trial or serving their sentences. Detainees can often be incarcerated for up to two years before their trials.

Many of those caught in pretrial detention and incarceration have experienced poor education, low wages, and social exclusion. Upon incarceration, individuals experience further loss of income and an inability to support their families, often driving others in the family to criminal activity. Project Pietà directly addresses a key factor that correlates with future criminal offense: future employment. Pietà is a social enterprise and clothing label that pays inmates a portion for each unit of clothing they produce, resulting in a reliable income they can send home to their families. Upon release, former inmates can continue working with Pietà or seek jobs at other companies with Pietà’s recommendation and support.

In August 2017, Kiva lenders helped Pietà to open a new retail store in Peru and a distribution center that will support 90 inmates with training, jobs, and incomes by 2019. Pietà is seeking a complementary loan to train 20 additional inmates and enable 110 total inmates to expand their work and earn 20% or more over the minimum wage.

Your loan will help to (1) open a fourth store to boost sales, allowing Pietà to expand operations to sustain its growth, and (2) to fund initial working capital needs for this new store that will allow more inmates to earn income in the production workshops.

You can help Pietà provide 110 inmates with the opportunity to sustain their families and to move out of poverty through a dignified and reliable source of income. Most importantly, you will be supporting inmates in building valuable work experience to secure jobs upon release.


This loan is special because:

It supports businesses that are too big for microfinance but too small for banks.



Loan details


Lenders and lending teams




Loan details