Meet the Federation

While paragliding and wine were ridiculous satisfying, they were not the reasons we came to Mendoza. Our bank, Grameen La Plata, is part of a federation of microcredit institutions in Argentina. Once a year, they all get together to present each bank's progress, discuss how to grow the federation and individual banks, and finally a choosen theme for the conference. This year's theme was the work of branch managers. Branch managers work directly with the borrowers to manage loans and create a sense of community within each bank center.

In small groups of branch managers representing each of the 5 banks in the federation (and 2 in the process of joining the federation), everyone discussed the challenges facing bank managers and the sustainability of their work. A common issue was the lack of income received by managers. For those who are full-time and have no other sources of income, volunteering to help the poorest of the poor comes at a higher cost. Without incentives to work for the bank, the sustainability of microcredit institutions comes into question.

As the oldest bank in the federation, Grameen La Plata dominated the discussions and provided its experience to the rest. This conference showed how young microcredit is in Argentina relative to other countries, such as Bangladesh and India. Whether microfinance is effective here and what scope there is for its growth is unclear.

In the evening, Pramod and I gave our presentation to the federation about our experiences at Grameen La Plata, such as what we think our benefits, problems and possible opportunities for the bank. Although a bit nervous to present in Spanish without an outline or what I was going to say, the presentation was well-received. Our boss was super happy with it and some folks asked if we could send them our presentation PowerPoint.


In addition getting to know other staff of the different banks, we were all introduced to the borrowers in Mendoza. The ladies put on a fashion show for us of the styles they developed and sell using microcredit loans.

After a long day at the conference, we hit the town for ice cream. Given the number of cows and Italian immigrants, the ice cream/gelato in Argentina is beyond delicious. Not only is the quality great, but the flavors are awesome. I had Ferrero Rocher (my favorite upscale chocolate) flavor. I almost passed out from happiness.