VZCZCXYZ0104
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #0232/01 0501508
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191415Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0920
INFO RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000232 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR S/GWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KWMN PREL KPAO AID CDC COM TRSY
SUBJECT: S/GWI Project Proposal - Chile: Empowering Women through 
Business Management and Leadership Skills 
 
REF: 09 STATE 132094 
 
¶1.       Mission Santiago enthusiastically nominates Fondo 
Esperanza (FE), a Chilean NGO that specializes in microfinance, for 
a grant in the amount of $99,069 from the Secretary's Office of 
Global Women's Issues (S/GWI) (see REF).   The project aims to: 1) 
empower women and promote entrepreneurship through management and 
leadership training in line with FE's village bank model and 2) 
create a website that allows for continuous tracking and education 
of members and provides a direct line of communication to and among 
FE beneficiaries.  Upon completion of the 18-month project, FE will 
submit three reports to assess its impact: 1) an analysis of skills 
taught and developed in the seminars; 2) results of seminar 
attendance and satisfaction of participants; 3) evaluation of the 
overall project from operational management reports, FE's annual 
report, and audit of webpage visits.  Post will partner with FE to 
review the reports. 
 
 
 
¶2.       Although arguably Latin America's most developed country, 
growth in Chile has not filtered down to many sectors of Chilean 
society, particularly to women.  In fact, Chile remains one of 
Latin America's most unequal societies in terms of income 
distribution, despite having an open economy and embracing 
globalization.  This is one reason that Chile belongs to the 
Pathways to Prosperity Initiative.  Mission Santiago looks forward 
to facilitating a relationship between members of FE and Chilean 
Pathways participants to share best practices, provide mentoring 
opportunities, and lend general support.  This relationship will 
help ensure program sustainability. 
 
 
 
¶3.       Mission Santiago is confident in FE's ability to carry out 
the following project.  The Public Affairs Section accepts 
responsibility for project and financial oversight and for project 
monitoring and evaluation. 
 
¶4.       PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 
 
 
 
  This project builds upon a successful pilot program FE recently 
completed and involves three main activities: training seminars for 
village bank Education Delegates and Directors; accounting 
notebooks for all village bank members; and a member webpage. 
 
 
 
  The program will last 18 months and reach upwards of 40,000 
households.  It will be implemented in 11 of Chile's 15 regions and 
will utilize the skills of FE's team of integrated microfinance 
coordinators. Each coordinator will facilitate seminars in his or 
her area.  Comunidad Mujer, a Chilean NGO dedicated to helping 
women in the workplace, will assist in designing workshops and 
training the seminar instructors. 
 
 
 
  The proposal's reach is significant: each village bank will 
receive intensive training and each bank member will receive a 
notebook to assist in accounting for loans and expenses.  Because 
FE works throughout Chile, the project's impact would be felt 
across the country. 
 
 
 
  Emboffs were extremely impressed with the organization's 
commitment, dedication, and its ability to carry out this project. 
FE will complement any S/GWI grant with significant personnel and 
other resources (see budget at end of cable). 
 
 
 
¶5.       ACTIVITY 1: Workshops on basic accounting skills 
 
 
 
  During the first seminar, participants will learn basic 
accounting skills, including the importance of recording all income 
and business expenses.  They will also be trained in the use of a 
specially-designed notebook as an accounting tool.  To transfer 
this information to the rest of the village bank, the Delegates 
will be given a notebook for each of their colleagues (production 
costs for 39,000 notebooks are included in the project budget). 
They must then repeat the lessons learned and give a follow-up 
report to FE. 
 
 
If selected for the S/GWI Small Grants Initiative, FE will print 
the State Department's seal on the front cover of the notebooks. 
The notebook prototype was well executed and user-friendly.  The 
notebook will provide organization members with an easy means to 
track expenses and profits, thereby advancing long-term 
sustainability and success. 
 
 
 
  There will be two days of training, one per semester, in each FE 
office.  The seminars will cover business growth, the role of the 
Education Delegate, and the importance of microenterprise as a 
poverty reduction strategy.  Comunidad Mujer will assist in 
designing workshops that target these issues from a gendered 
perspective.  Each seminar will reach approximately 1,700 female 
members.  All of FE's 37,300 members will be reached when the 
Education Delegates repeat the training at their respective village 
banks. 
 
 
 
¶6.       ACTIVITY 2:  Workshops on evaluating loan applications and 
lowering default risks 
 
 
 
  To achieve more effective delivery services, FE will train 
village bank executive committee members in finance and credit 
assessment, giving them the ability to properly assess new members 
and loan requests. 
 
 
 
  FE will hold a seminar for 800 village bank Directors on 
evaluating credit.  The seminar will cover three main themes: 1) 
effective leadership skills; 2) financial education and the 
components of a loan, understanding what a credit committee does, 
the role of Education Delegates on the credit committee, and 
financial tools to evaluate a loan, and 3) management and conflict 
resolution.   Participants will then incorporate the basic concepts 
of financial education into their respective village banks by the 
end of 2011. 
 
 
 
  A second seminar, also reaching 800 village bank Directors, will 
cover monitoring and evaluation of credit and loans.  The seminar 
will address how to write and create a budget that justifies a 
loan; monitoring and collection; tools to obtain repayment; dealing 
with conflict; and effective negotiation techniques. 
 
 
 
  To complement and follow-up on the implementation of the skills 
taught at the seminars, education sessions will be included for the 
entire village bank. The sessions will be taught by the Executive 
Committee so that each member of the village bank is aware of his 
or her responsibility, and together with the Executive Committee, 
is made accountable for the decisions of the credit committee. 
 
 
 
¶7.       ACTIVITY 3: Member Webpage 
 
 
 
  FE will train at least one member of each village bank in digital 
literacy during 2010. The seminar will teach participants how to 
use the internet, e-mail, and FE's members' webpage.  (FE reports 
that at least one member of each village bank has internet access 
through a family member, friend, neighbor, or community 
organization). 
 
 
 
  A members' webpage will improve village banks' ability to buy and 
sell through virtual channels, keep accurate records, communicate 
with FE staff, and take advantage of opportunities for training 
on-line. 
 
 
 
  The website also will allow for monitoring and follow-up to the 
training process of members from past seminars. 
 
 
This activity has three main objectives: 1) design a webpage that 
allows FE members to create networks and communicate relevant 
skills; 2) generate a tool that allows members to practice concepts 
learned from digital literacy courses; 3) empower the Executive 
Committee and the Education Delegates in their work, considering 
them the main users of this space. 
 
 
 
¶8.       PROJECT BUDGET: 
 
 
 
  Education Materials: State Department Contribution: $8,788. 
(Village Bank Notebook to track Repayments and Attendance: 800 
Village Banks x 3 notebooks per year). 
 
 
 
  Production of a Financial Register Notebook: State Department 
Contribution: $35,702. (39,000 units, one for each member of FE; 
designed by FE). 
 
 
 
  Food and beverages for workshops: State Department Contribution: 
$6,408. (4 seminars with 5,200 participants in total). 
 
 
 
  Design, development and maintenance of Website: State Department 
Contribution: $1,483; FE Contribution: $2,405. (Server and 
maintenance will be provided by FE). 
 
 
 
  Misc. materials for workshops: State Department Contribution: 
$7,873. (Data, photocopies, notebooks, folders, pencils, etc.). 
 
 
 
  Salaries of workshop instructors: State Department Contribution: 
$14,647; FE Contribution: $14,647. (5 instructors, 104 seminars). 
 
 
 
  Design of workshop contents and instructors' training: State 
Department Contribution: $9,154. 
 
 
 
  Project monitoring and supervision costs: State Department 
Contribution: $0; 
 
FE Contribution: $154,482. (Loan officers in field during 18 
months). 
 
 
 
  Transport of workshop instructors: State Department Contribution: 
$3,662. 
 
 
 
  Workshop room rental: State Department Contribution: $9,521 
 
 
 
  Project Evaluation: State Department Contribution: $0; FE 
Contribution: $1,831. 
 
 
 
  Administrative Costs: State Department Contribution: $0; FE 
Contribution: $6,591. 
 
(General management, operation management, administrative support, 
and office materials). 
 
 
 
  Miscellaneous Expenses: State Department Contribution: $1,831. 
 
 
 
  Transport of management team to sites: State Department 
 
 
Contribution: $0; 
 
FE Contribution: $549. 
 
 
 
  TOTAL STATE DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTION: $99,069 
 
 
 
  *$1 US= $546.18 Chilean Pesos (02/05/2010) 
 
 
 
¶9.       BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT FONDO ESPERANZA (FE): 
 
 
 
  FE is well-established in Chile. With over 30,000 members 
(clients/loan recipients) belonging to 1,600 village banks in 116 
communities, FE works "to create development opportunities for the 
continuous improvement of living standards in the poorest 
communities of Chile through the efficient delivery of integral 
microfinance services."   While FE is not necessarily a women's 
organization, almost 90% of its members are women and the program's 
primary beneficiaries are women and female-headed households.  In 
addition, FE will work with Comunidad Mujer, a well respected NGO 
dedicated to helping women in the workplace, on this project. 
 
 
 
  FE's micro-credit programs work: 91% of participants report 
feeling more financially secure as a result of the program and 
their household per capita income has risen, on average, by 40% 
after two years.  FE is considered a model in the region when it 
comes to education and microfinance programs.  The group recently 
hosted Nuestras Huellas, an Argentine NGO, to share experiences and 
improve Nuestras Huellas' operating capacity.  Funding FE's project 
will allow the group to build upon its institutional capacity and 
serve as even more of a model for other countries in the region. 
SIMONS