Accompanied by FIE Gran Poder employees, we spent a day in a number of underprivileged districts of Buenos Aires, where we met two micro-entrepreneurs.

Mr. Pedro David Zoran, baker, married and father of 4.

When Pedro and his family arrived in Buenos Aires in 1989, he was absolutely determined to find a better life in Argentina.  “We were Bolivian immigrants with a strong desire to get by in life”. He quickly realised that the people in his community, although settled in Argentina, needed some reminders of Bolivian life. One particular product his fellow countrymen missed was Bolivian bread. He seized the opportunity with his wife and together they set up a small bakery. “At first we only had one traditional brick oven and we produced a very small amount of bread”. Gradually the business developed, and after 4 years the family bakery was able to produce different types of bread and in larger quantities.

However, that was not enough for Pedro; he had bigger ideas and wanted to invest in an industrial oven, but he didn’t have the necessary capital to make such an investment. “We approached FIE and they agreed to provide the financing to help us buy both an oven and raw materials, and from then on, we really began to expand: rather than using 10 kilos of flour per day we were using 100 kilos!”

Once the brick oven had been replaced by the traditional oven, Pedro’s business took off quickly. Their premises became a little tight on space and so with the help of FIE he decided to extend his bakery. Then he decided his house was too small to accommodate his 4 children, so he borrowed again to build another floor. Next, he invested in other machines to industrialise his production facilities: he bought freezers to stock raw materials, and a van to sell his merchandise, all thanks once again to microcredit and FIE’s support. “Today, thanks to God and to the bakery, three of my children are studying medicine.”

Ms Yolan Silva, grocery store manager, single with no children.

Having trained to be a nurse, Yolan immigrated to Argentina from Peru as she could not find any work. Unfortunately, once she arrived in Buenos Aires her situation did not improve and she had difficulty in making ends meet. She was forced to find a second job in order finance her needs but she was adamant she did not want to work for anyone else. So she transformed a part of her house into a small grocery store and launched her business with a capital investment of 280 pesos (about  €55). One of her friends told her about a Bolivian company that was offering loans to businesses in the district. “I told them straight away that I did not have any Argentinean papers but they were nevertheless very amenable and they came to take a look at my grocery store”. 

Yolan received a microcredit, and over time a relationship was established between the Peruvian shopkeeper and the MFI: “I would pay back one loan and take out another. Like that, my business could develop”. She extended her shop and bought scales, fridges and freezers.

“I’m a survivor against all odds – my life has turned around completely”, she tells us. “None of it has been easy, every day I worked and worked… Money isn’t just handed to you on a plate – you have to pay it back. But after each loan I could see the changes it brought, and I continued to turn my life around.” Yolan has a lot of character and her desire to be independent gives her the strength to continue working.

It’s clear to us that the shopkeeper has a lot of respect for FIE – not only because of the financial aid it has provided but also for all the advice that the loan officer has given her. Yolan often brings neighbours to the MFI branch so that they too can learn exactly how useful microfinance can be: “Sometimes I even act as guarantor for my friends”. 

She will have finished paying off her current loan by next November and will then take out another, this time for 10,000 pesos (€2,000). “I’m going to build another floor on top of my shop and rent out rooms. And when it gets to the point that I can’t work anymore, I’ll hire someone else, keep an eye on him or her from this chair and live off the rent from my rooms!”