Lending money to marginalized populations requires special experience and we are fortunate to have Micaela Alvarez Perez on our team. Micaela’s passion for finding dignified ways to empower economically and educationally marginalized populations is reflected in her enthusiastic and professional participation in the entrepreneurial projects of our loan recipients.
The Veredas team is committed to accompanying the micro loan recipients, right from the very first step of helping them complete the loan application form, if they need it. Micaela accompanies the loan recipients as they create their own business plan, investigate markets, design logos, check for quality control, open bank accounts, prioritize how to invest their loans and decide their pay-back schedules. She is always available for consultations along the way, which could include anything from a therapy session for a group with communication challenges or advice on how to deal with an unexpected illness or natural disaster that would affect the payment schedule.
Once the loan recipients have been accepted into the program, we support them as people, not as loan collateral. So far, we have 100% pay-back but we are all in agreement that we will never force anyone into dangerous or morally compromising situations simply because their project was unable to repay the loan. Our primary funder and U.S. counterpart The Pathways Project (501-c3) joins us in believing that the loan itself is a tool for empowerment for those receiving the loans; not a way for us to make money.
