Student aids microfinance community in Chiapas

By: Todd Cater, WG '02

Posted: 11/19/01

This past summer I went with Wharton International Volunteer Project (WIVP) to Chiapas, Mexico to work with a local microfinance organization. I was located in San Cristobal de las Casas, a colonial town of about 100,000 people in the cloudforests of Chiapas. San Cristobal is known for its incredible architecture, richness of Mayan indigenous culture, and more recently for the 1994 Zapatista uprising. I had always wanted to visit this part of Mexico, so I decided to specifically target this region through WIVP.

The organization that I worked with, Al Sol, focuses on granting loans to poor women entrepreneurs and providing them with needed working capital to improve their businesses. The loan recipients are typically artisans and other vendors who sell their products in the surrounding villages and markets in San Cristobal. I contacted Al Sol last spring, and the director mentioned that they would like to have a volunteer this summer to assist with general strategy work, systems integration and development of an incentive program for the credit officers.

I arrived in Chiapas in early August, and was immediately taken aback by the amazing natural beauty of the area. I stayed in San Cristobal for three weeks, during which time I assisted Al Sol in several areas. I participated in credit meetings with the organization's loan officers, and made recommendations regarding the loan products offered, the structure of client meetings and the client types that Al Sol should target. I also developed an 'incentive-based' bonus system for credit officers, utilizing the considerable skills I had developed in Managing People at Work. Lastly, I co-developed a database system to enable the organization to maintain complete profiles of their clients.

Overall, I had an amazing experience working with WIVP. The trip gave me the opportunity to explore the state of Chiapas, including a trip to the Mayan ruins at Palenque, a boat trip in a canyon with one kilometer cliffs on both sides, and several day trips to Mayan villages. More importantly, I was able to assist a small organization that provided a service vital to the well-being of the local community.