Ecuadornews:
Households that are part of the program can request a portion of their pensions in advance to create microenterprises. More than 70 thousand credits have been delivered. Mónica Castro was motivated by two ideas to build a micro-enterprise that, little by little, walks away from poverty and spend more time with her daughters.
She is a beneficiary of the Variable Human Development Bond (BDHV), one of the social assistance mechanisms that the Government provides for people or households that live in a situation of vulnerability due to poverty. But in the case of Monica, it’s not just about receiving that bonus, it’s about having an opportunity to produce and thus generate more resources for her home.
She applied for a Social Development loan, through which the one-year deposits are advanced with the objective of setting up an enterprise. As a beneficiary of the Variable Bonus, she received $ 77 per month. The government advanced her $ 500 and with that she was able to buy an industrial sewing machine.
Now she receives a pension of $ 27. She already paid that loan and opted for an associative loan, for which she joined five other neighbors and together they requested a loan of $ 1,200. They bought an industrial binding machine and formed a small workshop for making backpacks. But the main products that Mónica produces together with her husband are cases for musical instruments of bands and orchestras, mainly drums and güiros.
Sales do not keep a steady pace; there are months when they cannot sell enough. The woman recognizes that this depends on the volume of merchandise she offers or the capacity to deliver a certain amount of products. When there are enough orders, her daughters of 20, 17 and 14 years old help her, including her youngest son, 5 years old, all students, because that is one of the conditions of receiving the bonus.
She has seldom earned more than $ 200, but those resources allow her to cover the needs of her home and cancel the acquired loan. Monica has in mind to open a store where she can have direct sales that allow her to continue growing productively.
The Deputy Minister of Economic and Social Inclusion, Marco Cazco, said that 280,535 households are beneficiaries of the BDH, who receive $ 50. While 106,404 households access the Variable Development Bonus, as is the case of Monica.
Of this segment, not all of them charge $ 150, that depends on the number of children. The average benefit that the State pays is around $ 86. Around 75,000 households advance their bonds for some enterprise, the official added.
Loans for a total of $ 100,000 were delivered by the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) in 2018. MIES technical brigades accompany the development of small businesses, as well as compliance with education and home health guarantees. “As the ventures mature, the list is delivered to BanEcuador so they can receive more credit,” Cazco said.
In this way the beneficiaries of the Human Development Bond have the opportunity to get out of the poverty gap.
Guidelines
Economic training
To access the Human Development Credit, families or their representatives must attend four workshops at the School of Economic Inclusion, where they receive training regarding the management of the finances of their ventures.
75 thousand people in poverty and extreme poverty received Human Development Credits from MIES.
Purification of the registry
For this year it is expected that 40,000 people will be granted access to the Human Development Bond and 48,000 will be released. (I)
Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/bono-desarrollo-humano-impulso-emprendedores
