CRECER, Crédito con Educación Rural

Village banking for self-employed women

Bolivia

Asociación Crédito con Educación Rural (CRECER) is a microfinance institution providing individual and group loans across Bolivia. Its core business is to provide education along with credit.

In 2014, 53% of Bolivians lived in poverty. There is a great need for basic financial services in the country. One of CRECER's main products is 'village banking' (a methodology by means of which a group of men and/or women take out a loan and distribute it in the form of smaller loans to each group member).

Group loans and village banking have long existed in many communities, and were adopted by microfinance organizations in the 20th century. Village banking adds a higher level of organization to the practice of group loans, in which the different members of the group are assigned specific roles, such as treasurer, secretary, and so on. CRECER loan officers support the village bank and provide training (financial, health etc) during the village bank session.

CRECER uses Oikocredit's loans to provide more loans to its clients, most of whom are women.