I did not know this before I went to Mexico, but it is incredibly difficult to get a loan in Mexico. If you look like a 'good credit risk' then you might be able to borrow money at about 25% interest, but if you are someone who is just starting out and have very little or nothing to put up as collateral, the it is more liek 75%. That makes it almost impossible for small businesses to get started in Mexico.
Enter Fundacion En Via--they loan very small amounts of money to groups of women without interest. The deal is that if you get a loan, you need to be willing to have tours of people, mostly North Americans, come to your business, and you must be willing to show them what you do, and also to talk about your business--why you chose it, how you manage it, the challenges you have had, how you have coped with them, and what are the successes. It is a wonderful window behind the scenes of women's businesses in Tenochtitlan. The money that the tours generate help to finance more loans, and so the program can grow. I had a fantastic time on this tour--we began with lunch at a tacqueria that received a micro-loan, and between meeting some amazing women, we saw a few amazing churches as well. The amount of money that is loaned is very small--$100 for the first loan--but the women can come back and get second and third loans and so on--they pay back the first and they are eligible for the second. It is a way to help people help themselves, It is very hard to find a tour that makes you feel this good--check one out the next time you are in Oaxaca.
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