Peru

SME loan program in Cajamarca, Peru. In May of 2003, SCDI received a US$100,000 loan fund commitment from a private source to assist small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) with credit. SCDI established a pilot SME loan program designed to encourage the development of small businesses in Cajamarca, Peru. It provides loans of $2,000 to $10,000 to SMEs that have the best chance of strengthening a diversified, sustainable economy that can outlive the current mining operations. Over $50,000 has been loaned so far to various small enterprises in Cajamarca. The loan program is successfully managed by a local nonprofit organization evaluating applicants and making loans based on guidelines established by SCDI.

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) capacity building program in Cajamarca, Peru. In early 2002, SCDI was instrumental in establishing a new program in Cajamarca designed to improve the capacity of local SMEs. This program is funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and by Minera Yanacocha. The program is based on the concept advocated by SCDI to use the economic leverage of the mining operation to establish a viable local economy consisting of strong, entrepreneurial, and home-grown small businesses with diversified and ever far-reaching markets. By using the mining operation as no more than an initial catalyst on which to build and strengthen the SME base, SCDI helped communities make progress in achieving sustainable economic and social development futures. The program identified the need for capacity building and technical assistance to local businesses as the most important prerequisites to benefit local enterprises from the economic development offered by the mining operation. SCDI was instrumental in designing and implementing training programs for local entrepreneurs and bringing in expert help to provide technical assistance to start-up businesses. This project is ongoing in Cajamarca and has resulted in a major shift in the use of local suppliers and contractors by the mining company.

Housing micro-credit program in Cajamarca, Peru – SCDI’s first project started in 2002 in Cajamarca, Peru, and was designed to help a large multinational mining company deliver tangible, direct benefits to the community from its mining operation in support of earning a “social license” from the host community. SCDI helped establish a new local credit agency dedicated to financing home improvement and construction for low- and moderate-income residents while encouraging the formation of small local construction enterprises to provide materials and labor for the building activities generated by the loan program. SCDI invited CHF International, a well-established international development organization, to organize and manage the housing credit program based on CHF’s 50 years’ experience in this field worldwide. CHF in turn established a local independent NGO with funding from the mining company and other sources. This new NGO, called PROGRESO, continues to operate successfully, providing affordable home financing and has a loan portfolio of over US$1,000,000. PROGRESO is also administering SCDI’s SME Loan Program in Cajamarca, Peru.