Giving Women Credit
Mission of Pro Mujer
Pro Mujer is a women's development organization that
provides poor women in Latin America with the
means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for
their families through microfinance, business training,
and healthcare support.
What Makes Pro Mujer Different:
• Serves the very poor
• Focuses on women
• Integrates credit with human development
services
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Resources and Training for Women
Pro Mujer gives women the resources and the skills they need to:
•
Increase their income and develop sustainable businesses
•
Maintain their health and the health of their families
•
Recognize their own value and potential
•
Achieve equality in their homes,
workplaces, and communities
•
Develop the self-confidence to
resist domestic violence
•
Inspire their children to
pursue a better life
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Poverty in Latin America
534 million people live in Latin America and the Caribbean
35% live on less than $2 a day
20 per 100,000 women die in childbirth in developed countries
190 per 100,000 women die in childbirth in Latin America
8 per 1,000 children die before the age of five in the United States
31 per 1,000 children die before the age of five in Latin America
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Microfinance and How it Alleviates Poverty
Reduces poverty
Expands opportunities
Promotes gender equality
Improves nutrition/health
Microfinance clients with long-term loan
access have a lower rate of poverty than
those without access, 57% compared to
75%
Daughters and sons of microfinance clients
are about 60% more likely to attend school
than other children
68% of female clients make decisions on
property, family planning and education
Microfinance clients and their families have
higher caloric intake and better nutrition
than other households
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Pro Mujer Clients
• Are primarily women
• Age between 36-44
• Live on less than $2 a day
• Majority have not completed
primary education
• Don’t qualify for credit and savings
accounts from financial institutions
• Work primarily as vendors in
the informal sector
• Have limited access to health services
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How Pro Mujer Combats Poverty
*
Reduces Poverty:
20% of long-term clients’ households were considered
poor compared to 40% of new-client households
Increases Income (Peru):
Established clients earned 19% more than recent
clients. They also spent more of their income on health and education
Improves Preventive Health Care (Nicaragua):
59% of long-term clients have had a PAP exam at least once,
versus 46% of new clients
Empowers Women (Bolivia):
44% of clients belong to community organizations, compared to 20% of non-clients.
And, 31% of clients involved in community organizations have leadership roles vs.
13% for non-clients
*Pro Mujer Case Studies
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A Track Record of Success
• Presence in 5 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico,
Nicaragua and Peru
• $159 million in loans were disbursed in 2009 and as of October of
this year, $155 million were disbursed in 2010.
• Average loan balance: $266
• Currently serves over 200,000 clients and more than 1.1 million
children and extended family members
• Loan portfolio at risk of default is 1.9%
• $17.8 million in client savings accounts
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Our Integrated Services Model
Communal
Bank
• Groups of 18 to 28 women
• Women guarantee each
other’s loans
• 99% of clients repay
their loans on time
Healthcare
•Education/Awareness/Tests
•Links to affordable healthcare:
– Pre- and post- natal care
– PAP smears & breast exams
–Early detection/treatment of
– asymptomatic chronic
–diseases
–Vaccinations
–Dental
Microfinance
•Access to credit and
savings accounts
•Business training sessions:
–Business plan development
–How to use credit
Social Development
•Strengthen family relations
•Address domestic violence
•Promote women’s rights
•Develop leadership skills
•Social networking
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Strategic plan for Health Program 2011
Integrated Services:
One-stop shop
Health package in-house: Education, Annual
check-up/Screening offered on payment day
Diagnosis and treatment of acute and
chronic conditions/
Counseling on Family planning
and Domestic Violence
Referral of complex cases at discount prices
Health campaigns
Mobile clinics
Sustainability
Share with Microfinance client
platform, infrastructure,
administrative tools.
Charge clients modest monthly
fee to cover costs .No out of pocket
during screening, education, acute
consults or treatment/follow up
of chronic
conditions
Monitoring and
Quality control
Systematic incorporation
of indicators to measure processes,
outcomes, Client satisfaction,
institutional performance.
Best evidence practices and
standardized protocols.
Standardization of reports
Acountability
Process maps with roles,
responsibilities,
benchmarks for individuals
and teams
Performance review
Internal and external
programs,
provide support
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Building a Successful Business- Sandra Saldaño, Argentina
Sandra and Daniel have seen their weekly earnings
double from 200 pesos (about $65) to 400 pesos
(about $130).
Their Pro Mujer loan helped them buy raw materials
for their pewter handcrafts. They also received
coaching and training from Pro Mujer.
Gradually, they took out larger loans, started selling
their products at artisan markets, and became more
adept at sales and bookkeeping.
Today their business is thriving and they are
economically sustainable. They can provide for
themselves and their family.
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Improving Healthcare- Johana López, Nicaragua
Cervical Cancer is the #1 cause of death
among women in Nicaragua.
Johana, a 33 year old mother, received a loan
from Pro Mujer, but it was the PAP test that
Pro Mujer offered, that saved her life.
Her early stage cancer was treated with
chemotherapy at a nearby hospital and
eventually the cancer dissapeared.
Now, healthy, she undergoes PAP tests every six
months, and encourages family and friends to do the same.
Says Johana, “I always have the test at Pro Mujer because
I know the results are dependable.”
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Enhancing Social Development- Adela Hualque, Bolivia
As a Pro Mujer client, Adela Hualque was so successful
at recruiting new members to form communal banks in
Bolivia, that she was asked to join Pro Mujer’s staff as a
credit officer in 1994.
Initially, in 1990 she received a loan to expand her
textile and children’s clothing business. Around the
same time, she began recruiting new clients for Pro
Mujer.
Adela credits Pro Mujer with giving her the selfconfidence to take on increased responsibilities and
overcome the isolation that often is associated with
poverty.
“Before, I was very timid and didn’t talk to people. Now I
interact with people all the time. I’ve seen for myself that
women can advance, that we are worth something and
can help ourselves.”
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Recent Awards and Recognition
•
Five-year grant of $3.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop
new products
•
Inter-American Development Bank's 2007 Excellence in Microfinance Award
•
Grameen Foundation’s 2006 Pioneer in Microfinance Award
•
Financial Transparency Award from the Consultative
Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), based at the World
Bank
•
MicroRate, investment ratings of “A” for Peru,
“A-” for Bolivia, and “B+” for Nicaragua
•
USAID, recognition for outreach and efficiency
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Building Capacity to Support Growth
• Develop and implement ongoing training programs for staff
• Implement new Management Information Systems (MIS) across
entire Pro Mujer Network and develop long-term IT strategy
• Further improve financial risk management
• Develop and implement guidelines for accessing capital across the
network
• Develop standard social indicators to measure impact
• Develop policies and guidelines for non-financial services
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Major Institutional Donors
Corporations
JP Morgan
Foundations
Anglo American Group Foundation
AIG
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bessemer Trust
The Citigroup Foundation
Continental Airlines
Deloitte
Hagedorn Family Foundation
Evercore Asset Management, LLC
Halloran Philanthropies
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan Chase Foundation
Halbis
The Weberg Trust
Hewlett Packard
Johnson & Johnson
The Western Union Foundation
The McGraw-Hill Companies
Whole Planet Foundation
Microsoft
Zennström Philanthropies
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Standard & Poors
Xerox
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Pro Mujer is more than a microfinance pioneer. No other
institution so successfully delivers programs that meaningfully
improve the health and livelihoods of very poor women… By
staying true to their values, Pro Mujer has created an innovative,
integrated approach that is replicable and poised to become a
new industry standard.
Jonathan Murdoch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics
At New York University’s Wagner School, and co-author of
The Economics of Microfinance
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Leadership
Rosario Pérez, CEO, Pro Mujer
Rosario Pérez, Chief Executive Officer of Pro Mujer, served as a member of the Pro Mujer board of directors for two
years prior to being elected Chief Executive Officer of the organization. As a member of the board, she was an
integral part of several board committees and worked with the Pro Mujer leadership in both the U.S. and Latin
America. Rosario is the founder and owner of R.P. Advisors LLC, a consulting firm based in New York City. Before
founding her firm, Rosario was the Global Executive in charge of JPMorgan’s Latin America Private Bank where she
managed a US$300 million dollar revenue business with 300 employees worldwide. Additionally, she was on the
boards of J.P. Morgan (Suisse) S.A. and J.P. Morgan Trust Company (Bahamas) Limited. Until January 2005, she
served on the board of Helen Keller Worldwide. She presently serves as founder and President of CONARTE, a
Mexican foundation focused on promoting the arts in Mexico’s public secondary and primary school system. Rosario
received a B.A. in International Relations from Universidad de las Américas in Mexico and holds a M.A. degree in
Modern European History from Yale University. Email: rperez@promujer.org
Lynne Randolph Patterson, Co-founder and Director of Pro Mujer
Lynne spent the first part of her career in the United States promoting educational programs for low income families
and children. She worked as a teacher and administrator in the New York City and Port Washington Long Island
public school systems. In 1990, she moved with her family to Bolivia where she joined forces with Carmen Velasco to
develop training programs for women receiving donated food. Lynne and Carmen developed an inclusive,
comprehensive program based on what the women insisted were their primary needs. The training programs in
business development, child development, health and family planning eventually led to the founding of Pro Mujer.
Lynne has degrees in Government (B.A., Principia College); Education (M.A., Teachers College, Columbia
University); American History (M.A., New York University) and Educational Administration (Ed.D., New York
University). Email: lpatterson@promujer.org
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Leadership cont’d…
Carmen Velasco, Co-founder and Director of Pro Mujer
Carmen spent the first part of her career teaching at the Bolivian Catholic University before she teamed up with Lynne
Patterson to develop training programs for women. Carmen was the co-founder of Pro Mujer in Bolivia, which has been
fully sustainable since 1998, and she has also been responsible for providing technical assistance to Pro Mujer’s
microfinance institutions in Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Under her leadership, Pro Mujer Bolivia, has
achieved a world-wide reputation for excellence. Recently, Carmen assumed her new role as the Co-Executive
Director of Pro Mujer International. Based in Pro Mujer’s new regional office in Bolivia, she is responsible for supporting
operations, for new product development, and for implementation of all network systems in each of the 5 countries
where Pro Mujer is established. Carmen has a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University of
Chile. Email: cvelasco@promujer.org
Tanya Mujica Keenan, Chief Development & Communications Officer of Pro Mujer
Tanya Mújica Keenan, Chief Development and Communications Officer of Pro Mujer, brings a wealth of experience in
development. Before joining Pro Mujer, she served as Director of Development, Individual Giving, at New York
University, where she doubled the department's fundraising totals in less than a year. Before this, she served as
Director of Development at the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she successfully closed the
school's most effective fundraising campaign. Prior to NYU, she served as Assistant Director of International Initiatives
at Columbia University, helping to increase the school’s visibility and expand its donor base in Asia and Europe.
Earlier, she served in the Office of President Jimmy Carter and was a member of the Latin American Program at The
Carter Center, and held a position at the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Tanya, who was born in Mexico
City, earned a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and an M.P.A. in Nonprofit
Management from New York University.
Email: tmujica@promujer.org
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Leadership cont’d…
Eugenia Acosta, Human Resources Director of Pro Mujer
Eugenia has held HR leadership roles within the US, Latin America and the Caribbean over the last 15 years. Most
recently, Eugenia worked as the Director of HR for Sabre Holdings and Travelocity.com where she was
responsible for all HR functions across 22 countries and islands in Latin America and the Caribbean. Previously,
she held a manager position in the HR team at Ryder Logistics, a global organization headquartered in Miami, and
she also looked after all HR functions for Lykes Brothers, a large food and agricultural conglomerate in Tampa,
Florida. She co-wrote a "Manager's Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act" as well as several legal articles
ranging from "Email privacy in the workplace" to “An Employers' guide to Age Discrimination in the
workplace". Eugenia received a BA in Psychology from Loyola University in New Orleans, and a Juris Doctor
degree from Northern Illinois University. Email: eacosta@promujer.org
Jenny Dempsey, Director of Product Analysis Development of Pro Mujer
Jenny manages the international operations team; international grants; and the development of joint collaboration,
internal technical assistance, strategic planning and institutional strengthening for Pro Mujer’s network of MFIs.
Prior to Pro Mujer, Jenny worked as the accreditation manager for Catholic Relief Services Microfinance. Jenny
also consulted for MicroRate, worked in Bolivia as a microfinance advisor to Pro Mujer in Bolivia and worked in the
research and development unit for Fundación Emprender, an ACCION affiliate in Argentina. She holds Master’s
degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Kenyon
College. Email: jdempsey@promujer.org
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Leadership cont’d…
Jenny A. Hourihan, Chief Financial Officer of Pro Mujer
Jenny brings a diverse financial management background to Pro Mujer, having been an investment banker for
over two decades with advisory and transaction experience in both US and international equity and debt capital
markets, mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings across a variety of industries as well as private
and public sector clients. Most recently, Ms. Hourihan was Managing Director and Sector Head—Paper and
Forest Products Group for Bank of America, and held similar positions at Merrill Lynch and the Salomon Smith
Barney unit of Citigroup, where she led global teams in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. She is a
graduate of Swarthmore College with an Honors BA in Economics, where she was a Thomas B. McCabe Scholar,
and a Harry S. Truman Congressional Scholar. Email: jhourihan@promujer.org
Hugo Torres, Chief Technology Officer of Pro Mujer
Hugo has more than 25 years of international experience in the field of information technology, as well as in
product commercialization and systems management. In his previous job, Hugo was the Director of Technology
and General Manager of British Telecom Global Services in all of Latin America. Hugo has also had executive and
management positions in companies such as Microsoft, Xerox, Banamex (Citigroup), and Grupo Estratel. Hugo
has also been a professor of information technology at the Universidad de México. Email: htorres@promujer.org
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Appendix
•
Page 4: Sources: Ferreira, Francisco. “Inequality in Latin America & the Caribbean: Breaking with History?”. 2003;
Gilbert, Geoffry. “World Poverty”. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO 2004; “Human Development Indicators 2005” (PDF).
2005; “World Bank.” 2006; “World Bank: PovertyNet: Overview.” 2006; WHO,UNICEF, UNFPA. “Maternal Mortality
in 2000.” 2004
•
Page 5: Sources: S.R. Khandker and O.H. Chowdhury, “Targeted Credit Programme and Rural Poverty in
Bangladeh”; Shahidur Khandker, “Fighting Poverty with Microcredit: Experience in Bangladesh”; Microfinance
Exchange “2004 Benchmarks”; Suzy Cheston and Lisa Kuhn,“Empowering Women Through Microfinance”;
Caroline Barnes, Gary Gaile, and Richard Kibombo, “Impact of Three Microfinance Programs in Uganda”; S.M.
Hashemi and L. Morshed, “Grameen Bank: A Case Study”, in “Who Needs Credit? Poverty and Finance in
Bangladesh”; and Mainlam Asset Management.
•
Page 7: Sources: Woller G., CGAP-Ford Foundation Interim Report, 2005, “Performance Measurement: Using
Social Impact Indicators,” Pro Mujer Peru, 2005. FINRURAL (2003): Evaluación de Impactos de Programas para
La Mujer (Pro Mujer) Bolivia. Final Report. Woller G., CGAP-Ford Foundation Interim Report, 2005
As of June 2009
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Contact
• Pro Mujer
253 W. 35th Street, 11th floor South
New York, NY 10001
• Tel: +1 212.952.0181
Fax: +1 212.952.0183
• www.promujer.org
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